ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a St. Louis County man.
The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was activated Monday to investigate the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Mark Ford, who was from Breckenridge Hills.
He was shot while visiting a home on the 10700 block of Trask Drive in Dellwood, according to a news release.
Within hours, officers arrested 37-year-old Timothy Lee, of Dellwood. Police listed his address as the 10700 block of Trask, which is the same block where the shooting happened.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Lee with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
According to the probable cause statement, police responded to the home for a report of an assault. When officers arrived, they found Ford in the driveway with a gunshot wound to his head.
Lee was at the scene and was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant.
After investigating the case and speaking with witnesses, Lee became a suspect in Ford’s murder.
When police interviewed Lee, he told officers Ford had been coming to the home frequently to try to convince the resident's to let him live there.
Lee said he got a gun, went outside and confronted Ford. During the interview, Lee said he fired two shots in Ford’s direction and one bullet struck him.
Afterwards, Lee went into the house where another resident of the home, a woman, was inside. Lee tried to take her car keys to leave the scene, but she didn’t let him have them.
Lee then tried to convince the woman to tell police that she shot Ford because he was attempting to burglarize the home.
Police said Ford and Lee knew each other because Ford was friends with Lee’s brother. Lee admitted to being drunk at the time of the shooting, according to the statement.
The gun that was used in Ford’s murder was recovered at the scene wrapped in a red shirt with two spent casings and additional live rounds.
Police said Lee was previously a convicted felon.
