One person is dead – and a suspect is now in custody — after a shooting this morning at a Henry County gas station. It happened BG’s Express on US 58 a few miles west of Martinsville. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office identifies the victim as 55-year-old Mack Watkins. They have charged 75-year-old William Matthews with the shooting, one they believe is domestic-related.
From the Henry County Sheriff’s Office: On April 25, 2019 at approximately 10:15am, the Martinsville-Henry County Emergency 911 Center received a call that an individual had been shot in the parking lot of BG’s Express located at 16380 A. L. Philpott Hwy., Martinsville, VA. At 10:17am, deputies arrived at BG’s Express and located a male victim lying beside the store. The deputies, along with members from Henry County Public Safety attempted life saving measures on the victim. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim suffered at least one gunshot wound to the chest. He will be transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the Western District of Virginia where an autopsy will be performed. The victim has been identified as Mack Bradley Watkins, 55, of 3464 Golf Course Rd., Spencer, VA.
Through the course of the investigation a suspect was developed. A description of the vehicle he was driving was given out to area law enforcement. At approximately 11:25am a Virginia State Police Trooper saw the vehicle traveling West on A. L. Philpott Highway. Virginia State Police along with deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in the 18000 block of A. L. Philpott Highway. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. The suspect, William Tyrone Matthews, 75, of 580 Spencer Preston Rd., Spencer, VA was charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a violent felony. He is currently held in the Henry County Jail without bond.
Anyone having information regarding this homicide is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 63-CRIME (632-7463). The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2500.00 for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of the information determine the amount of reward paid. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the citizens who provided information and the media outlets who provided coverage of this incident.
