This was the scene a week ago outside the Dallas-Spencer Mountain Road residence where Patrick Tracy Burris was shot and killed by police after Burris produced a weapon and fired on the officers. The couple who called police, concerned about activity at a nearby house, will receive the CrimeStoppers reward being offered for the arrest of the man who came to be known as the Cherokee County Serial Killer. (Ledger photo / JOE L. HUGHES II) The Cherokee County CrimeStoppers Board meeting Friday lasted only a few minutes and there was no debate.

A Dallas, N.C., couple who notified the Gaston County Police Department of a possible burglary in progress across the street from their home — a call that led police to Patrick Tracy Burris — deserved the entire reward offered for the arrest of the Cherokee County serial killer, the board unanimously agreed.

CrimeStoppers board member Doug Wilson of the Broad River Electric Co-Op announced Friday morning after the meeting that Michael and Terry Valentine would be hand-delivered a $30,000 check.

Burris, whom police say was the man responsible for five murders in Cherokee County between June 27 and July 2, was killed during a 3 a.m., July 6, shootout with Gaston County police officers. One officer, J.K. Shaw, was struck in the leg when Burris pulled a gun and fired a shot. The officers returned fire, killing Burris.

Within hours, police would link the gun Burris had fired at the officer to all five Cherokee County murders. The champagne-colored Ford Explorer he was driving, which police had been looking for, was parked in the carport of the vacant Dallas-Spencer Mountain Road home where Burris was discovered and killed.

Interestingly, most of the reward money wasn't donated until hours after Burris was killed.

The reward fund, which is comprised of donated money, had started out at $2,000 when the hunt for the serial killer began. On July 6 at about 10 a.m., or about seven hours after Burris was shot to death, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office announced that additional donations had increased the reward to $20,000 and that additional donations were being accepted at the sheriff's office.

At about 5 p.m., July 6, approximately 14 hours after Burris had been killed, the sheriff's office announced that even more donors had stepped forward and the reward had swelled to $34,500.

Wilson said Friday the last total was inaccurate, the result of a miscount. Donations were coming in so fast from different locations, including Blacksburg and Gaffney, that there was a double-count of some funds.

The $30,000 reward being given to the Valentines represented all of the reward money set aside and the donations that came in, Wilson said.

Wilson said the board had no hesitancy in awarding the full amount and the meeting lasted just a few minutes.

The board members included Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton, Gaffney Police Chief Rick Turner, Blacksburg Police Chief Jamie Ham, and First Sergeant Steve Mueller of the South Carolina Highway Patrol's Post A in Gaffney.

"It was important to us (at CrimeStoppers) and important to the sheriff's office to get the crime stopped," Wilson said. "Regardless of of the circumstances of when the call came in and whether it was made to CrimeStoppers, the bottom line is that when that call was made this crime stopped."

The Valentines could not be reached for immediate comment Friday.

Sheriff Blanton had said on Thursday, before the meeting, that he would vote to give the Valentines the full reward.

"People were making donations to help catch this guy," he said Thursday. "If they hadn't called, would we have caught him right then? Would he have killed again?"

He added, "The bottom line is that phone call stopped the killing spree."

Cherokee County CrimeStoppers operates an anonymous tip line at (864) 489-2746 through which people can pass along information about crimes in the community. Rewards for information that leads to an arrest normally max out at $2,000 while rewards of up to $5,000 are possible for crimes of "exceptional circumstances."

While donations poured into the reward fund specifically for the serial killer hunt, Wilson said the CrimeStoppers program is a year-round program and that donations are always needed.

A little more than a year ago, The Gaffney Ledger wrote that the reward fund was nearly depleted after a reward was paid in the arrest of four people accused in a shotgun slaying, causing several area donors and businesses to step forward with assistance. As of last February, in an updated story, it was reported that the fund balance had grown to about $5,000 thanks to donations.

The CrimeStoppers program is a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made to the Cherokee County CrimeStoppers through the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce at 225 South Limestone Street, Gaffney, S.C., 29340.