A man who was a popular fixture in his Northwest Roanoke neighborhood was found dead in his home Monday, and police have arrested another man who was caught driving a car that belonged to him.

George Rogers, 89, was found dead in his front hallway in the 1300 block of Orange Avenue, according to his ex-wife Clovis Rogers. She said that she had not heard from him for several days and noticed his car had been missing since last Wednesday. When she stopped at the house about 11 a.m. Monday, she said, she discovered his body lying in his front hallway.

Police have not officially identified the body and said it has been taken to the medical examiner's office so they can determine the cause of death and confirm his identity.

The victim had obvious head trauma, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court, and police have said they are treating the case as a homicide investigation.

Jesse James Corbin Jr., 19, of Roanoke was charged Monday with grand larceny after he was stopped on 13th Street Northwest while driving a vehicle that belonged to the victim, said Roanoke police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson.

Rogers' son, Darryl Rogers, said the arrest came after he spotted his father's 1997 Ford Crown Victoria driven by a stranger Monday afternoon. Darryl Rogers said he was sitting in his Chevrolet Suburban, talking to a police detective, when the car went past.

"I said, 'Hell, there's the guy right now,' and the detective tried to flag him down," Rogers said.

When the car didn't stop, Rogers said, he went after it himself. He said the Ford eventually wrecked and the driver fled on foot, limping, but was soon picked up by police.

George Rogers' daughter, Clovia Rogers, said she heard that Corbin told police the car had been given to him by someone else. She and her mother said they believe whoever assaulted Rogers also stole his answering machine.

"His answering machine was missing," said Clovis Rogers, who said she found her ex-husband's body about 6 feet inside his front door, lying between the hallway and the living room in the home she said he'd occupied for more than 40 years.

The house "was ransacked. Either there was a struggle or they ransacked it," Clovia Rogers said.

"The police said whatever they hit him with, he died instantly," she added.

"I couldn't understand it," her daughter continued. "They didn't have to rob him. He would've given it to them. He probably didn't have enough and they broke bad."

Friends and family spoke repeatedly of George Rogers' generosity with his time and money, and pointed to his weekly volunteer service for RAM House and his activity within First Baptist Church.

"He had a personality like no other," said the Rev. Carl Tinsley, who said he served on many local boards with Rogers and called him a great friend. "He knew a lot of people and a lot of people knew him.

"If something was going on, he'd be there. He's going to be missed in this community."

Clovis Rogers said her ex-husband frequently distributed bread, collected from RAM and from Williams Memorial Baptist Church, around his neighborhood.

"He knew families who were needy and he'd leave it on their doorstep and just keep going," she said.

Neighbors Leonard McPherson and Vanessa Brown also recalled that Rogers went around the neighborhood, handing out cakes, doughnuts and fruit.

Such behavior echoed the days when, for a decade and a half, Rogers worked for the United States Postal Service. He handled Route No. 1721 out of the Melrose Post Office, and even carried mail in his neighborhood.

"He used to bring treats for the dogs and lollipops for the kids," his daughter said.

Rogers' two-story white house was roped off with yellow police tape Tuesday morning and most of the day as investigators wearing white jumpsuits inspected the house. They concluded their examination Tuesday afternoon, Clovis Rogers said.

No one else has been arrested in connection with the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 853-5959 or the Crime Line at 344-8500.