Sheriff’s Office: Mum on the motive, for now

Oconee Sheriff Mike Crenshaw says his office will not talk about an apparent motive for the murder of a Salem man near Seneca. The reason for that, Crenshaw says, is to protect the integrity of the case against Joshua Randall Ferguson. “Further details are not appropriate at this time,” Crenshaw said in a statement. Arrest warrants allege murder and possession of weapon during a violent crime against Ferguson, who lives next door to where Charles Benson Cantrell was found face down Friday night at the back of a home. Ferguson, a passenger in a car, was arrested the following day as part of a Seneca area traffic stop. Coroner Karl Addis said an autopsy confirmed Cantrell died of a single gunshot wound to the back that resulted in internal trauma of a major blood vessel near his heart. Narcotics agents took part in the homicide investigation, according to Crenshaw, because a meth lab was found at the crime scene. “It is believed that the victim was shot with a firearm by the suspect in a disagreement between the two,” the Sheriff said.