Phillips

ELKINS – A jury found Melvin Richard Phillips Jr., 64, guilty of voluntary manslaughter and use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony in the fatal shooting of a man in the Heavener Acres Trailer Court in 2024.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours and 45 minutes on Friday before returning its verdict at about 3:20 p.m. The trial began Wednesday.

Phillips was charged with one count of murder and one count of use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony. He is accused of shooting Mark Wirth, 67, during a dispute on May 6, 2024.

Wirth was discovered on the porch of his Heavner Acres residence suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Wirth was transported to Davis Medical Center by Randolph County EMS, where he later died.

Phillips will be sentenced on Oct. 20.

A full story will be in Saturday’s edition of The Inter-Mountain