JOHNNY RAY MUELLER A 46-year-old Blacksburg man was booked on a murder charge early Wednesday following a shooting incident that left his brother-in-law dead.

Blacksburg police were dispatched to 416 E. Lime St. at 2:46 a.m. and immediately made contact with Johnny Ray Mueller, who called 9-1-1 to report the incident, outside the residence.

Rickey Allen Dixon Sr., 52, was found dead in a bedroom of the home.

Mueller is accused of shooting Dixon during an argument inside the residence they shared. Mueller, Dixon and Dixon’s wife were all home when the incident took place, according to police.

Police said they could not release specific details about the circumstances, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. They also could not comment about the evidence they collected, or about any statements that were given, though they could confirm the handgun allegedly used in the shooting had been seized.

Police said they were still reviewing the tapes of the 9- 1-1 call and could not yet release any details about the call.

No one else was injured, Sgt. Peter McBride of the Blacksburg Police Department confirmed.

Mueller was booked on a murder charge at the Cherokee County Detention Center at 7:39 a.m. Wednesday, according to a jail log.

McBride said an arrest warrant was served on Mueller at the jail.

Because of the charge, Mueller will have to appear before a Circuit Court judge in General Sessions Court in order to have a bond set. No hearing date had been announced as of Thursday.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Dixon was pronounced dead at the scene and that an autopsy showed Dixon died as a result of the gunshot wounds.

Fowler confirmed Dixon was shot twice, though he would not say where in the body Dixon was struck.

Dixon, a native of Greensboro, N.C., worked as a handyman and was a volunteer at Iron City Ministries in Blacksburg, according to his obituary, which appears on Page 2A.