SPARTANBURG COUNTY MAN RECEIVES LIFE PRISON SENTENCE FOR DOMESTC HOMICIDE

A Spartanburg County man received a life prison sentence today after he admitted to shooting his common-law girlfriend to death.

Gregory Scott Denton, 38, pleaded guilty to murder before Circuit Judge Mark Hayes. Denton shot 42-year-old Sheila Sanders to death on Sept. 25, 2006. The fatal shooting occurred about 12:50 a.m. while Sanders sat in the driver's seat of her Chevrolet Beretta while it was parked at the couple's Hawk Hill Drive home in the Clifton community.

Neighbors said they saw Denton talking to Sanders moments before the gunfire started. Denton fired multiple shots into the car with a .357 revolver before he slammed the weapon into the windshield.

Denton transferred Sanders to another vehicle and drove her to Mary Back Memorial Hospital. He carried the Sanders into the hospital lobby and laid her on the floor. He confessed to hospital workers and sheriff's deputies that he shot his girlfriend of 12 years.

The hospital’s security system recorded Denton carrying Sanders in the emergency room.

The murder weapon was recovered near the crime scene. Deputies also found a suitcase in the back seat of Sanders' car.

"This case exemplifies the danger of domestic violence," Assistant Solicitor Cindy Crick said. "The evidence shows that Ms. Sanders was killed as she tried to escape a bad situation."

Denton will serve every day of the prison sentence. He is not eligible for parole.