Coroner identifies man killed over car repairs

The Richland County Coroner’s Office has identified the man who was shot and killed Friday evening during an altercation over car repair work.

Gary Watts said 64-year-old Willie Lee Geter, of Columbia, was pronounced dead at a local hospital just after 7:30 p.m. on Friday at a local hospital from complications of a gunshot wound to the upper body.

Sheriff Leon Lott said sheriff’s deputies are still investigating the shooting that lead up to Geter’s death.

Lott said Geter was repairing the suspect’s vehicle at his residence located in the 900 block of Fiske Street near North Main Street. When the suspect came to pick up his vehicle, he was not satisfied with the work Geter had done.

Lott said a verbal altercation between the two individuals became physical before the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired several shots at Geter, hitting him in the upper body before fleeing the area. Winesses told investigators that the suspect fled the area in a late model Cadillac sedan.

Lott said Geter was well known in the North Main Street community and was always willing to help others in the community no matter the situation, especially with mechanical problems.

If anyone has information regarding the shooting, they are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (888)-CRIME-SC.