4 charged in murder
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

Ledger photos / TIM GULLA Authorities removed several bags of evidence, as well as the carpet, from inside 114 Fleming Road, Gaffney, on Friday afternoon in the wake of an early morning home invasion and shooting that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Furman Scott Armstrong, of Cowpens.

A long weekend of pounding the pavement led Cherokee County Sheriff's Office investigators to file charges against two more people Sunday in connection with the shotgun slaying of a 23-year-old college student Friday.

Four people now are charged in the murder of Furman Scott Armstrong, of Carson Drive, Cowpens, inside a Fleming Road, Gaffney, mobile home early Friday.

Armstrong was visiting his brother's home on Fleming Road when someone broke through the front door, shot him, and then robbed his brother Kendrick, police said.

Two men, 20-year-old Justin Byers, of Gaffney, and 24-year-old Kelvin Lamar Dawkins, of 315 N. Granard St., Gaffney, were in custody by Friday evening, each charged with murder, armed robbery and burglary.

Someone broke into the residence at about 1:30 a.m., likely kicking open the door to gain entrance. A footprint dented the door, which police outlined with arrows drawn on sticky notes. It was dusted for prints Friday.

Ongoing investigations throughout the weekend led to the same charges being filed against Tomaine R. Deal, 22, of 416 E. Junior High Road and Chas L. Smith, 18, of 123 Maplewood Drive, said Sheriff Bill Blanton. Both Deal and Smith were in custody Sunday evening.

Police said they couldn't release many details because the investigation is ongoing. For instance, police believe they know which of the four men was the gunman but did not want to identify him at this point.

"It's still early in the investigation," Blanton said. "There still are a lot of people to interview."

Police have not yet recovered the weapon used in the murder.

The shooting took place at about 1:30 a.m. After robbing Kendrick Armstrong of an unknown amount of money, the shooter fled in a car that has loud mufflers.

While detectives conducted interviews, forensic investigators spent most of Friday at the murder scene collecting evidence. Several plastic bags containing various wrapped items, as well as the carpet from inside the mobile home, were removed from the scene Friday afternoon.

DAWKINS

Throughout much of the day Friday, a number of hand drawn arrows on sticky notes outlined a footprint dented into the front door of the trailer, indicating that someone might have kicked open the door to gain entry.

Grieving family members who had been at the murder scene Friday afternoon declined to comment. According to Foster Funeral Home in Gaffney, which is handling arrangements for Armstrong's funeral, the 23- year-old Spartanburg native was a 2001 graduate of Broome High School and was a student at Southern Weslyn University of Greenville.

Neighbor Carol Fowler, who lives just 50 feet away from the murder scene, said she had gone to bed at about 12:30 a.m. when a loud noise woke her from her slumber.

"I thought I heard a door slam," she said.

She looked out the window and said she could see two people moving around inside her neighbor's home. One man came outside, holding what she believed to be a flashlight, and then he headed back inside for a moment.

DEAL

She said she then saw two people pacing near the front of the home, before police arrived.

The situation kept her up all night long, though she said she wasn't fearful.

"I've never been afraid and I'm not now," she said.

The neighborhood and the home where the murder occurred always have been quiet, she said.

Police don't believe the incident was random.

"I'm not sure they knew the person they shot," Blanton said. "But they knew the person they robbed."

BYERS SMITH