Special Forces soldier, 37, and Army veteran, 44, found dead at Fort Bragg were BOTH facing criminal charges and 'had been under investigation for selling narcotics' - as it's suspected they may have been murdered in a 'drug deal gone wrong'

The Special Forces soldier and the Army veteran both found dead at Fort Bragg in a suspected double homicide were each facing criminal charges, it has been revealed.

The bodies of Master Sgt. William Lavigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44, were both discovered on the North Carolina base on December 2, sending shockwaves through the military. 

Now, new details about the case are coming to light, amid revelations that both men were due to appear in court and had reportedly been under investigation for selling drugs. 

According to the Fayetteville Observer, Dumas was 'supposed to appear in Forsyth County District Court on December 17 for charges of breaking and entering, communicating threats and impersonating a law enforcement officer.'

In that case, Dumas allegedly kicked down the door of an apartment before he told the male occupant that he was a police officer and made a series of threats. 

Meanwhile, Lavigne 'was supposed to appear in Cumberland County District Court on January 15 for a hit-and-run charge.'

The two cases have not been linked by reporters or law enforcement officials, and it is unknown how close Lavigne and Dumas actually were to one another. 

No other military members have come forward detailing the relationship between the pair, which remains clouded in mystery.  

However, the fact that both men have had recent brushes with the law has led some to suspect that they were involved in shady dealings together prior to their deaths. 

An Army official told CBS News that 'investigators suspect that it their was a double homicide resulting from a drug deal gone wrong'. 

Another defense official told the network that both Lavigne and Dumas had both 'been under investigation for using and selling drugs'

The bodies of Master Sgt. William Lavigne II and Army veteran Timothy Dumas were both discovered on the North Carolina base on December 2, sending shockwaves through the military

Earlier this week it was also revealed that Lavigne was allegedly responsible for the fatal shooting of Green Beret Mark Leshikar during an altercation back in 2018

In a report with Connecting Vets and Radio.com, Leshikar's family revealed how Lavigne had allegedly shot Leshikar dead inside his home two years ago but was never charged, despite inconsistencies in his account of the incident. 

Lavigne had claimed that 33-year-old Leshikar, with whom he had been good friends, came at him with a screwdriver.

Yet he initially told cops that Leshikar had killed himself, and in another version of events, said that he could not see Leshikar's hands and would not have known if he had a screwdriver, according to Connecting Vets.

An investigating officer from the 1st Special Forces Command wrote in a memorandum that Lavigne was not credible in his retelling of the incident. However, the command still ruled that Leshikar's death was in the line of duty.

Sgt. First Class Mark Leshikar was shot dead by Lavigne in March 2018 by Lavigne Cops said the shooting was justifiable despite inconsistencies in Lavigne's story

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office also declared Leshikar's death as a 'justifiable homicide'.  

Leshikar's sister Nicole Rick told Connecting Vets that Lavigne and Leshikar were best friends but would often argue and both were involved in taking drugs

Leshikar had a desk job in Fort Bragg after suffering from a traumatic brain injury due to an improvised explosive device detonating near him. He had served in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. 

His family said that he became addicted to Tramadol which he was prescribed to treat his brain injury and began to self-medicate with Valium.

Both men allegedly used cocaine.

'I knew about Mark's drugs, I knew about Billy's drugs,' Leshikar's mother Tammy Mabey told Connecting Vets. 

Lavigne would go on to have another brush with the law the following year.

In February 2019, he was charged with a felony for allegedly harboring an escapee but his court date, and the charge, later disappeared from the records.

In February 2019, Lavigne was charged with a felony for allegedly harboring an escapee but his court date, and the charge, later disappeared from the records (pictured above)

Fort Bragg, covering nearly 172,000 acres, is one of the world's largest military complexes, according to its website. It has approximately 57,000 military personnel, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family members

Lavigne enlisted in the Army in 2001 and deployed multiple times to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

In 2007, he graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to the 1st Special Forces with a follow-on assignment to US Army Special Operations Command.

Dumas served in the Army from 1996 to 2016. 

Lavigne and Dumas' deaths were discovered earlier this month after their bodies were found in the training area of Fort Bragg.

WRAL reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, that one body was found lying flat on the ground. The other was wrapped in a blanket near a pickup truck.

The deaths are being investigated by special agents from the Army Criminal Investigation Command. 

Fort Bragg, covering nearly 172,000 acres, is one of the world's largest military complexes, according to its website. It has approximately 57,000 military personnel, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family members.