Police: Man shot, killed at Kettering gas station while trying to retrieve phone; Suspect arrested

KETTERING — An argument in the early morning hours Sunday between two men described as ‘acquaintances’ led to a deadly shooting at a Kettering gas station, according to police.

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Robert M. Cash, 31, was identified Monday afternoon as the victim killed in the shooting, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger. Cash’s hometown was not released by the coroner, however Kettering Police Chief Chip Protsman said he was not a Kettering resident.

Cash’s cause and manner of death are still under investigation by the coroner’s office.

Protsman held a news conference Monday afternoon releasing new details into the deadly shooting at the BP gas station Sunday morning. Police and medics were called to the station at Smithville and Wilmington avenues shortly after 6 a.m. on reports of a shooting.

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Cash was found shot ‘several’ times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have arrested Peter Betts Jr., 28, of Bellbrook in connection to the shooting. He remains booked in the Kettering City Jail on preliminary charges of aggravated murder.

Cash and Betts had been together the night before when Betts found that he had Cash’s phone.

“At some point Mr. Betts obtained the victim’s phone. Later that morning they contacted each other and made arrangements for him to give that phone back to him,” Protsman said during the news conference.

The location they agreed to meet at was the BP station. However Protsman said it is unknown why the two chose the location with both of them not being from Kettering.

“When they arrived (at the gas station) an argument ensued and a short time later was when Mr. Betts shot the victim several times,” Protsman said.

Betts fled the scene in a car that was later located on Bayberry Cove Drive in Bellbrook, Protsman said. Police found Betts had changed cars and had left the area.

License plate reading cameras led Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies to a home in Jefferson Twp. where Betts was located and arrested, Protsman said. Police recovered two weapons during the investigation, a rifle used in the shooting and a second weapon when Betts was arrested.

While formal charges are still pending, Kettering detectives are meeting with the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office to determine formal charges in the case.

This is the second homicide in Kettering in 2023 however they have not represented an overall increase in violent crimes across the city.

“As of right now there is no trend that we’re concerned about with the violent crimes in Kettering,” Protsman said.

The BP station was also the site of another fatal shooting in 2021. Anthony Gray Jr., 21, was killed in the shooting. The man who shot him, Ja’Leel R. Brooks, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole until he served at least 18 years.

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