NEWTON, N.C. (Court TV) — An 85-year-old man is facing charges after prosecutors say he killed his business partner after a court ruled against him in a contract dispute.
Willard Black (Catawba County Detention Facility)
Willard Gary Black, 85, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Robert Roger Arguelles, who was killed on June 17. Court records show that earlier that day, Black was ordered to pay Arguelles $310,882.74 after a contract dispute between the two men.
Documents reviewed by Court TV show that Arguelles and Black had been business partners; Black sold Arguelles 49.9% of the stock in his business, Old Hickory Tannery, in 2018. In the following months and years, Arguelles had said, he loaned Black $280,000, of which only $23,876.19 was ever repaid. The two sides reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit for $310,882.74, but after filing the paperwork with the court, Black sought to withdraw his consent to the agreement.
On June 17, Judge Nathaniel Poovey signed an order denying Black’s request to change the terms and ordering him to pay Arguelles the money.
Prosecutors said that back at the business, approximately four hours later, Arguelles and Black got into an argument, and the victim was shot four times, WSOC reported. When police arrived, Black was accused of saying, “I shot that guy.”
Court records show that a judge ordered Black to be held on a $2.5 million bond; if he should post the bond, he will remain under house arrest pending trial.
