Bail set at $1M for man charged in two rapes at Fayetteville cemetery

A Hope Mills man was charged Monday with multiple counts of rape after two women reported being assaulted at a Fayetteville cemetery, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said.

Daymond Mikel Watts, 38, is charged with two counts of first-degree forcible rape and one count each of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, assault by pointing a gun, larceny from a person and possession of stolen goods in the assaults reported Wednesday and Sunday, according to the Sheriff's Office.

According to a news release, both victims were in the area of School Street and Eastern Boulevard when they were offered a ride, and then assaulted at Fayetteville Memorial Cemetery on Gillespie Street

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Despite a request for $500,000 bail from public defender Michael Faison, who noted Watts served in the military and was honorably discharged last year, District Court Judge Francis Britt set Watts' bail at $1 million.

"Sir, you have got some high-level felonies you are facing," Britt said during Watts' first appearance in court Tuesday. "The court has to consider the safety of the public."

During the brief hearing, District Attorney Billy West said that the victim from March 6 reported her wallet and cellphone were taken before the assault and the victim from March 11 told police she was held at gunpoint during the assault. At least one of the women met the suspect in a social setting and both immediately reported the assaults to law enforcement, he said.

Watts was arrested at his home on Walking Trail Way at 11:13 p.m. Monday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective I. Fisk, with the Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Investigation Unit at 910-677-5495. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Fayetteville/Cumberland County CrimeStoppers by calling 910-483-TIPS (8477); visiting fay-nccrimestoppers.org online; or by downloading the FREE “P3 Tips” app available for mobile devices. 

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.