Man shot to death; suspect arrested

An argument between apparent acquaintances turned deadly Wednesday evening when a 31- year-old man sustained a shotgun blast to the head inside a Blacksburg home.

Benjamin Eric Phillips, of Highway 161, Clover, was pronounced dead at the scene and 28- year-old Woodrow Allen Hayes, of 244 Wilderness Trail, was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center on a general murder charge.

While Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigations were ongoing Thursday, early indications were that the men had been drinking when an argument erupted.

Blanton didn't have personal knowledge of the subject of the argument. Two witnesses inside Hayes' home still were being interviewed Thursday, he said.

Police didn't have to go looking for Hayes as he stayed at the scene, Blanton confirmed.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler was dispatched to the scene at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and he stayed there until about 2:45 a.m. Thursday. An autopsy performed later Thursday in Newberry showed the gunshot was fired at very close range, Fowler confirmed. The death was ruled a homicide.

A relative of Phillips, who asked not to be identified, said Phillips was born and raised in Gastonia, N.C., and had many relatives, including a daughter, in York County.

"He was loved by his family," the relative said. "He was a good guy.

Phillips' death is the third murder investigation of 2008 for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.