In the early morning hours of December 30, 2017, a dispute at a Valero gas station on Brookdale Road in Martinsville, Virginia, tragically cut short the life of 34-year-old Tyrone Antwon Herndon. The male victim was found by police with a gunshot wound following reports of a fight that had broken out just after midnight. Herndon was quickly transported to SOVAH Hospital in Martinsville, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation almost immediately focused
on 24-year-old Terrell Martin, who was identified as the suspect in the shooting. Witnesses reported that the fatal confrontation began with an argument after Herndon declined to shake Martin's hand in the parking lot of the gas station. This seemingly minor slight escalated, leading to the deadly encounter. Police determined that Herndon and Martin were acquainted with each other and that Herndon was the intended target of the violence.
Following the incident, Terrell Martin fled the scene, prompting a nearly two-week manhunt. Authorities considered him to be armed and dangerous. His time as a fugitive came to an end on January 11, 2018, when he was apprehended in the city of Franklin. In July of that year, a grand jury in Martinsville indicted Martin on a total of 129 charges, including first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within the city.
