Coroner’s office identifies 2 men found shot to death at Harrison Twp. auto dealership

UPDATE @ 8:50 a.m. (Feb. 20): 

The two men found shot to death in a Harrison Twp. auto dealership were identified by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office as Frank D. Buck, 71, and Lester Golson, 59, both of Dayton.

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Both men’s autopsies are taking place this morning.

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Originally, a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office captain said the men’s ages were 59 and 79. Buck was the operator of Buck-I Auto Sales on North Dixie Drive.

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UPDATE @ 6:37 p.m. (Feb. 19): Two men were found shot to death after an apparent struggle Monday at Buck-I Auto Sales on North Dixie, according to Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies.

Capt. Jeremy Roy said the bodies of men ages 79 and 59 were discovered inside the Harrison Twp. business at 2801 N. Dixie Drive after deputies were dispatched at 1:22 p.m. on a shots fired call. Roy would not provide any other details and said the deceased’s next of kin had not yet been notified Monday afternoon.

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Roy said deputies forced entry after seeing what they believed was at least one body. Roy said the coroner’s office was to take control of the bodies and evidence technicians were coming to photograph and diagram the scene. He said autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday.

“It looks like a struggle ensured inside the business prior to whatever happening,” Roy said, adding that he thinks the people involved knew each other. “I don’t believe that there’s anybody that we need to worry about right now. We think it was contained right here.”

In a 6-minute 911 call, a woman told a dispatcher that she went to the car dealer and saw two men who “started to tussle,” then saw one man pull a gun. As she was going to call police, she heard about three gunshots.

The woman said she saw one man’s face, then drove away and called 911.

At the scene during the sheriff’s investigation, a woman appeared to re-enact how she looked into the locked building and tried to get in.

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“We have someone secured that may have witnessed someone coming or going,” Roy said, saying that the cooperating witness was taken downtown to talk to detectives and was not considered a suspect.

The business next to the Traveler’s Motel and across the street from Ben’s Batteries is right next to a bridge that is being repaired. Construction equipment tearing up the road on the bridge and a jackhammer was operating nearby in the minutes immediately after deputies arrived on scene.

Roy said deputies will knock on business’ doors in the area to see if they have surveillance footage and added that people who had been interviewed had been helpful.

Montgomery County property records indicate the property was sold in 1999 by Sam Ashburn Sr. to a Frank D. Buck.

UPDATE @ 4:55 p.m. (Feb 19):

Two men found dead inside the Buck-I-Auto Sales dealership in Harrison Twp. appear to have been shot to death and there is no doubt there was a struggle inside the business, Montgomery County sheriff's Capt. Jeremy Roy said.

The names of the victims, ages 59 and 79, have not been released as investigators are working to contact family members of the victims.

Roy said deputies dispatched to the address on North Dixie Drive about 1:20 p.m. found the victims in a back area of the business and had to kick in the front door to gain entry.

It's too early to say whether there was a robbery, the captain said, but investigators have "no doubt there was a struggle" inside the business.

Roy also said investigators have in custody a woman who may have witnessed something that happened prior to the slayings. She is being cooperative, he said.

The captain said the sheriff's office doesn't believe there is a danger to other businesses in the area even though there has been no apprehension or arrest.

FIRST REPORT

Two people have been found suffering from gunshot wounds near a car dealership on North Dixie Drive in Harrison Twp. Monday afternoon.

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Emergency crews requested medics to the 2800 block of North Dixie Drive, near the Keowee Street bridge, on reports of at least one person suffering a gunshot wound.

Deputies have surrounded and placed crime scene tape up around the Buck-I Auto Sales dealership.

Additional details were not available.

We have a crew on the way and we’ll update this page as we learn more.

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