'You never know what's going on next door.' Death of York County man ruled homicide

Foul play is suspected in the death of a man found dead at home on Old Friendship Road in Rock Hill Monday afternoon, said York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson.

However, police said officers do not believe the death of Scottie Starnes, 45, is a random crime.

Starnes, 45, was found unresponsive by family, said Sabrina Gast, York County Coroner. Gast ruled Starnes' death a homicide.

Tolson, the sheriff, declined to release many details about Starnes death, including how Starnes died. But Tolson said that neighbors and the public should not be fearful at this point that Starnes' death was a random attack.

"We have no reason to believe at this point that this was a random act," Tolson said.

Bubba Freeman, a neighbor who said on Tuesday he went to school with Starnes, said he didn't know him well, but he had seen police at his house several times before his death.

Felipe Griffith, who shared a driveway with the victim, said he'd only seen police at Starnes' home once before his death, but said he didn't think Starnes was involved in any criminal activity.

"Scott was a quiet guy," Griffith said. "Scott really never caused any problems."

Griffith said he's lived next to Starnes for two years, and came home to "almost 20 cop cars" in his shared driveway Monday night.

"You never know what's going on next door," he said.

Investigators have been working the case since Monday and are "working leads," Tolson said.

Autopsy and toxicology reports haven't been released yet.

This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 3:41 PM with the headline "'You never know what's going on next door.' Death of York County man ruled homicide."