2 brothers charged in 2023 Robeson County homicide

LUMBERTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- One man is under arrest and his brother is being sought in a 2023 homicide in Robeson County, the sheriff's office said Friday evening.

On Oct. 31, deputies found Stephen Locklear, 38, of Lumberton, dead inside his home in the 600 block of Back Swamp Road.

Richard Alexander Hardin, 32, of Red Springs, was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, and discharging a weapon within an enclosure to incite fear. At the time of his arrest, Hardin was in the Robeson County Detention Center on unrelated charges.

His brother, Gatlin Ray Hardin, 29, of St. Pauls, is wanted on charges of first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, and discharging a weapon within an enclosure to incite fear.

The Robeson County Sheriff's Office Homicide Division asked that anyone with information about Gatlin Hardin's whereabouts or the case in general is asked to call the sheriff's office at (910) 671-3170 or (910) 671-3100.