Friendship dispute arrests

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Waylon Keith Baxley, 61, and Blair Vaughn Wooley, 25, both of Greenville, were arrested by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) Cpl. C. Bethea on Friday, Aug. 30, on charges of tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm.
According to the report issued by the JCSO, on Thursday, Aug. 29 at approximately 10:40 p.m., Cpl. Bethea and Deputy Godwin responded to a call regarding a physical disturbance. The call had originated after a victim reported that Baxley had gone into the victim's home, possibly broken the victim's finger and discharged a firearm.
When Cpl. Bethea and Deputy Godwin arrived on the scene, Baxley had already left, but the victim apprised the two law enforcement officers on the situation that had transpired between himself and Baxley.
According to the victim, Baxley had shown up at the victim's house and had been permitted indoors, as the victim and Baxley knew each other as friends.
However, after letting Baxley into his home, the victim said that Baxley began to urge the victim to finalize his divorce with his wife, as Baxley wanted to pursue a relationship with her. At that point, Baxley was asked to leave the residence by the victim.
While the victim was escorting Baxley out of the home, Baxley reportedly turned and struck the victim with his fist, but the victim was able to deflect the hit with his left hand. Due to the deflection, however, he suffered injuries to his finger (which the victim believed to be broken).
After the victim deflected the blow, Baxley began to leave and returned to his vehicle, as if to drive away.
However, the victim said that he heard gunshots coming from Baxley's vehicle, and when he stepped outside, he could see the muzzle-flash of a firearm from the side of the vehicle where Baxley had entered.
The victim admitted that he then stood on his porch and 'antagonized' whoever was shooting, by asking them if they "could shoot better than that."
The victim said that he then went indoors and called 911.
In an interview with an observer who had witnessed the entire episode, the victim's story was verified, with the witness also adding that she had recognized a second man, who she knew to be Blair Wooley, standing near the front door of the victim's residence and accompanying Baxley.
Law enforcement received a description of Baxley's vehicle as well as a recent address where Baxley was living and Cpl. Bethea (along with Monticello Police Department's Lt. Pitts and Officer Sauls) responded to Baxley's last known address.
Baxley was called out of the residence, and he agreed to speak with law enforcement officers. Although he admitted that he'd gone over to the victim's home to urge the victim to finalize his divorce, he denied having involved the victim in a physical altercation.
When asked if he possessed a firearm, Baxley said he did not, but Wooley, who was with him when he went over to the victim's house, owned firearms. Baxley denied ever discharging a gun during the confrontation with the victim.
In fact, Baxley stated that it was the victim who had pulled a gun and fired at him and Wooley, except he could not tell Cpl. Bethea what sort of weapon the victim had supposedly fired and in a later interview, Baxley claimed he "did not hear any gunshots" while at the victim's house – causing a contradiction in his story.
After interviewing Baxley, law enforcement asked to use his phone in order to contact Wooley and request that Wooley come to Baxley's residence and provide his own account of the altercation to law enforcement.
Baxley gave permission, and when contacted, Wooley agreed to speak with law enforcement.
Upon Wooley's arrival, law enforcement read Wooley his Miranda Warning and placed him under oath.
According to Wooley, he had accompanied Baxley (upon Baxley's request) to the victim's house and was told (by Baxley) that the victim "might pull a gun" on the two of them. After he had been warned of the possibility of the victim brandishing a firearm, Wooley said he had grabbed his own gun before leaving the house.
When they arrived at the victim's house, Wooley said that Baxley had gone in, then when Baxley was urged out of the residence by the victim, Wooley claimed that the victim kept "saying things" to Baxley that ultimately led to Baxley punching the victim.
At that point, Wooley returned to the truck in case he needed to retrieve his gun, but since the victim didn't produce a firearm, Wooley kept his gun in the vehicle.
However, once Wooley and Baxley were leaving the residence's driveway, Wooley said that Baxley grabbed Wooley's gun and fired two shots out the window; Wooley noted that he did not attempt to stop Baxley and admitted that he believed Baxley to be intoxicated at the time.
After the confrontation, Baxley brought Wooley home – where Wooley said he remained until being contacted by law enforcement.
Since Wooley alleged that he'd last seen his gun in Baxley's truck and that the weapon had not been returned to him after being brought home, Cpl. Bethea asked Baxley for consent to search his residence and vehicle.
During the search, Cpl. Bethea found a black nylon firearm holster, a glass jar of cannabis, and several boxes of bullets – but no gun.
Both Wooley and Baxley confirmed that the holster belonged to the gun, but when asked where the gun was, Baxley stated that he didn't know.
The story continued to tangle when Baxley asked to speak with Wooley, saying that Wooley would be "more likely" to tell him where the gun had been hidden.
The request was granted, and after the two had spoken, Wooley agreed to escort law enforcement back into Baxley's residence and show law enforcement where the gun was hidden, which was supposedly behind a dresser in the bedroom.
However, after a search of the bedroom, the gun still remained undiscovered.
Wooley said Baxley had stowed the gun behind the dresser, while Baxley said Wooley had been the one to stash the gun.
Eventually, Wooley admitted to placing the gun behind the dresser but insisted he didn't know where the weapon was at now.
Based on the totality of the circumstances, Baxley was placed under lawful arrest for tampering with physical evidence, simple battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Baxley was placed under arrest for tampering with physical evidence.
After transporting them to the Jefferson County Jail, Cpl. Bethea conducted a review of his back seat camera footage, where Baxley could be heard stating that he "should have shot" before opting not to finish the statement. Baxley also made adverse remarks against the victim before saying that he couldn't believe that law enforcement hadn't found the gun, adding that law enforcement was arresting them "because its [the gun] hid."
With Baxley's recorded statements, law enforcement was led to believe that both men knew the location of the gun but had hidden it somewhere unbeknownst to law enforcement.
Blair Wooley was given a $1,000 bond and was released from jail on Friday, Aug 30.
Waylon Baxley was given a $10,000 bond and was released from jail on Friday, Aug. 30.