A routine argument over a neighborly dispute in Seneca, South Carolina, turned deadly for 62-year-old Ronnie Lee Cobb. On the evening of February 22, 2023, Cobb had returned to the East South Second Street apartment complex on his moped and became involved in a verbal altercation with a neighbor. The neighbor, identified as William David Morgan, went back inside his apartment, retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun, and shot Cobb in a common area.

Cobb was struck in the chest and died that night; an autopsy confirmed a single shotgun wound and the Oconee County Coroner’s Office classified the death as a homicide. Morgan initially barricaded himself in a nearby apartment and surrendered about 30 minutes after officers arrived.

During sentencing, Cobb’s daughter, Seneca city councilwoman Lekesha Benson, described the family’s trauma.