Old Hickory president charged with 2nd degree murder

Court dispute preceded fatal shooting that left business partner dead

NEWTON, N.C. The news last week that Old Hickory Tannery’s Willard Gary Black had been charged with the second degree murder of his business partner, Robert Arguelles, shocked us all. I cannot imagine the trauma for the Arguelles family, the Black family and the greater Newton, North Carolina, business community.

Business partners since 2018, the two had been in court just hours before the shooting, locked in a battle for control over the high-end leather upholstery company founded in 1972. That court hearing did not go well for Black, who four hours later was arrested at the offices of Old Hickory Tannery. He is being held on a $2.5 million bond, according to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier that fateful day, a Catawba County Superior Court judge ordered Black to follow through on a settlement agreement under which he had agreed to sell his entire stake in Old Hickory Tannery for $1. However, Black had attempted to back out of the deal weeks after it had been reached in open court. That turnabout led to the hearing on June 17.

Judge Nathaniel J. Poovey signed an order directing Black and Old Hickory Tannery to comply with the terms of an “In-Court Settlement Agreement” that the parties struck on May 11 to resolve a long-running dispute. The agreement is Exhibit A in the order issued June 17.

The case was originally filed in November 2024 by RRA Solutions and its sole member, Arguelles, pitting him against the only other shareholder in Old Hickory Tannery, Black. According to court filings, RRA Solutions owns 49.9% of the company’s outstanding shares, while Black owns the remaining 50.1%.

RRA and Arguelles sued in 2024 seeking, among other things, money they said was owed to them, as well as disclosure of financial records, and the judicially managed dissolving of the company. Black and Old Hickory Tannery counter-sued, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and tortious interference.

On March 30 this year, the court entered summary judgment in favor of RRA and Arguelles for approximately $311,000, accruing interest at $68.09 per day, and found that dissolving the company would, in fact, be appropriate. The judge gave Black and Old Hickory Tannery a chance to avoid dissolution by making an acceptable offer to buy out RRA’s shares or by having the company itself buy out Black.

After several rounds of negotiations, the parties seemed to have reached a deal in open court on May 11. Black would sell his entire ownership stake to Old Hickory Tannery for $1, the company would absorb the obligations spelled out in a lengthy set of warranties and conditions, and RRA’s lawsuit would be resolved. The binding agreement, or the “In-Court Settlement Agreement,” was signed by attorneys for both sides, and it included dozens of detailed provisions covering everything from the company’s tax filings and insurance coverage to a three-year non-compete and non-solicitation period barring Black from the furniture business within 100 miles of Catawba County.

This is where it gets funky, and it is here where Black appeared to resolve no longer to cooperate either with Arguelles or the court. According to Wednesday’s court order, Black told his own attorney that he had signed the settlement agreement and mailed it to defense counsel. But, sometime before June 1, he reversed course and informed his attorney that he and the company were withdrawing their consent to the agreement, according to the record of events in Wednesday’s court order.

The order is careful to note that Black at no point claimed that his attorneys had lacked authority to settle the case, but that he simply attempted to walk away from an agreement his own attorneys had already executed. Judge Poovey found, therefore, that a motion for “specific performance” was the proper way to force compliance with a settlement agreement, and that RRA and Arguelles were entitled to an order requiring Black and the company to carry out every term of the May 11 agreement.

The court ordered Black and Old Hickory Tannery to specifically perform the settlement in full, denying RRA and Arguelles only their request for attorney fees.

The agreement also called for Black to resign as an officer and director, turn over corporate records and bank account information, and facilitate the assumption of the company’s facility lease for at least 24 months. The settlement further provided that the court would retain jurisdiction over the company for two years to oversee compliance, and that any failure by Black to follow through could result in the company’s dissolution. In that scenario, Arguelles would be empowered by the court to wind up the company as a court-appointed receiver.

The order was signed at about 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 17. At about 3:20 p.m. that same day, the Newton Police Department received a call reporting a shooting at Old Hickory Tannery on Locust Street in Newton, according to the Newton PD. When police arrived at the scene, they found 59-year-old Arguelles shot in the chest and the back., according to the police report. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and Arguelles was declared dead at the scene.

Black was arrested on the scene, and a weapon was put into evidence. He was arraigned the next day and is being held on bond, according to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office website.

Black, 85, brought Arguelles on as a business partner in 2018, a partnership that enabled Old Hickory Tannery to return to the High Point furniture market that year.

“You buy into companies because of the people and the product,” Arguelles told Furniture Today in October that year. “I met Willard and the team, and if you ask me if I believe in them, the answer is unequivocally “‘Yes.’ They are best in class.”

For that same story previewing Old Hickory Tannery’s market return, Black credited Arguelles for progress in cutting delivery times.

“Most companies in our category are looking at 12- to 14-week deliveries, and we’ve been able to achieve six-week delivery on customized product,” Black told reporter Powell Slaughter. “That’s because of the financial investment (Rob) has put in.”

Prior to partnering with Black, Arguelles had 30 years of experience in automotive and electronics manufacturing, as well as in logistics and delivery. He also was a member of the Alexander County School Board.

“It is with heavy hearts that we mourn alongside the Alexander County Schools’ family, friends and the entire community that Rob Arguelles so devotedly represented,” said board superintendent Bill Griffin in a statement released to the public. “He was an amazing father, husband and board member who has faithfully supported our school system for almost four years.”