Police: 85-year-old man shoots, kills co-worker in Newton

NEWTON, N.C. – Police say a workplace dispute led to a deadly shooting in Newton. 85-year-old Willard Black is charged with second degree murder. He’s accused of killing 59-year-old Robert Arguelles at Old Hickory Tannery on Locust Street. It happened around 3:00 Wednesday afternoon.

Officers arrived to find Arguelles shot in the chest and back. He died at the scene.

Police say the two were co-workers, and are seen together in a post on the company’s Facebook page from 2018.

Arguelles was also a member of the Alexander County School Board. A Facebook post from the district’s superintendent calls him an “amazing father and husband.”