In the late morning of April 25, 2019, a burst of violence shattered the calm of a gas station parking lot in Martinsville, Virginia, leaving one man dead and another facing a lifetime behind bars. Mack Bradley Watkins, a 55-year-old man from Spencer, was fatally shot in the chest outside the BG's Express on A. L. Philpott Highway. The Martinsville-Henry County Emergency 911 Center received a call about the shooting at approximately 10:15 a.m., and though deputies and public safety members
arrived promptly to render aid, Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect, and a description of his vehicle was broadcast to area law enforcement. Within an hour, at around 11:25 a.m., a Virginia State Police Trooper spotted the vehicle heading west on A. L. Philpott Highway. A traffic stop was conducted, and the suspect, identified as 75-year-old William Tyrone Matthews of Spencer, was taken into custody without incident. Authorities have indicated that the shooting is believed to be domestic in nature.
Matthews was subsequently charged with a litany of serious offenses, including first-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted violent felon. He was held at the Henry County Jail without bond. Mack Bradley Watkins, born on October 27, 1963, was a graduate of Patrick County High School and had attended Patrick Henry Community College. He was remembered for his love of gardening, helping others, and spending time with his family. His body was sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the Western District of Virginia for an autopsy.
