Sheriff's Office Charges Man With Covering Up Death In Old Fort

ASHEVILLE – The McDowell County Sheriff's Office has concluded its investigation into the death of DeAndre “Desmond” Clark, a former Asheville YMCA youth mentor found dead April 22 in Old Fort.

Clark, 22, of Asheville, was found dead April 22 with a gunshot wound to the head behind an abandoned business on Batcave Road in Old Fort, according to a previous Citizen Times report. Clark had been reported missing to the Asheville Police Department on April 19 by his mother. His colleagues say he was at work that day.

After investigating his death alongside the NC State Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff's office ruled that Clark committed suicide, according to a June 13 news release.

“The physical evidence found at the scene, as well as video footage and other information, is all consistent with Clark’s death being a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the release said.

A new set of charges – including covering up and failing to report a death – have been brought against Scotty Styles, who has been jailed since April 24. The day before his arrest, Black Mountain police officers spotted Styles driving Clark's car and charged him with breaking and entering a motor vehicle and theft, the Citizen Times previously reported.