SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) - A man is facing charges in connection to a shooting that left a woman dead Monday night at a Spartanburg County hotel.
The shooting happened just before 7:30 p.m. at the Red Roof Inn on Pottery Road, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said a man, later identified as Keith Anthony Jones, 46, who lived at the hotel, made the 911 call and stated someone had shot his baby.
Once deputies got on the scene and secured it, a woman was located with a gunshot wound and then taken to the hospital where she later passed away during surgery.
The Spartanburg County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 49-year-old Venecia Miranda Woodruff, who lived at the hotel.
According to the sheriff's office, an eyewitness account, the recovery of the weapon that was used, and a review of the hotel's surveillance system gave deputies probable cause to detain Jones.
Deputies then charged Jones with murder, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
We spoke to businesses nearby who said crime has been significantly increasing in the area.
"Sometimes you know people avoid going into this business because of these kinds of crimes happening here so yeah, we need help," said Vimal, BP Gas Station.
But they said it hasn't always been this way.
"We are here in this business and this area for the last 6 years and I haven't heard anything like that, the murderer doing things or something but that's really shocking for us and it's scary," said Vimal.
Now, Vimal said his employees are scared.
"You never know who is doing what or who is going to do what, and that's right, they have to be really alert sometimes, it makes whoever is working here…they are scared of some customers," said Vimal.
Jones was denied bond Tuesday afternoon. He will appear before a circuit court judge on February 23, 2023.