On the evening of February 2, 2019, tragedy struck in Martinsville, Virginia, with the death of 32-year-old Eric Montequilla Barksdale. The Martinsville-Henry County 911 center received a call about a shooting at a residence on Rivermont Heights Road. When deputies from the Henry County Sheriff's Office arrived, they found Barksdale on his porch suffering from gunshot wounds.
He was transported to SOVAH Health Martinsville, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators learned that Barksdale had been involved in an argument with a 17-year-old male. The altercation escalated, and the teenager shot Barksdale before fleeing the scene on foot. The suspect, later identified as Domineek Richardson, turned himself in to the Henry County Sheriff's Office on February 5, 2019. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and reckless handling of a firearm. Richardson was held at the W.W. Moore, Jr. Juvenile Detention Home in Danville, Virginia.
In a significant development in the case, Domineek Richardson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on February 19, 2020. Barksdale, a father and operator of a recording studio, was described as a great dad who loved helping children and served as a mentor to many. He was a well-known figure in the local entertainment scene, and his death was a great loss to his family and the Martinsville community.
