ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Police are calling a deadly shooting in St. Charles a “robbery that had gone wrong.” It ended with one of the suspects dead and two of his acquaintances charged, police said at a news conference on Christmas Eve.
Brady David Wood was found dead at about 7:30 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of N. 2nd Street.
An investigation found Wood set up a fake Facebook account under the name “Amanda Smith” and lured a man he knew under the guise that the victim would be meeting up with the woman, police said.
Police said Wood wasn’t working alone. Two of his acquaintances are accused of helping him conspire to scam and rob the victim. Michael A. Leslie, 29, and Autum Nuspl, 21, are now facing charges.
Using the fake Facebook account, Wood told the victim that a friend would pick him up and bring him to “her.” Leslie picked up the victim just after 5 p.m. Friday and drove to the 800 block of N. 2nd Street, where Wood appeared with his face covered and a pellet gun.
“For all intents and purposes when you look at it, you couldn’t tell the difference,” St. Charles Police Capt. Ray Juengst said of the replica gun looking like a semi-automatic weapon.
Wood pulled out the gun with the intent of robbing the victim of cash and drugs, police said. The victim pulled out his own gun and shot Wood in the neck, investigators added.
“The shooting was justified,” said St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar. Police concluded that the victim acted in self-defense.
The man who was lured to the scene wasn’t hurt. His name is not being released at this time. Officials said he would not face a murder charge, but other charges are possible as their investigation continues.
After Wood was shot, the victim told Nuspl to drive him back home, which she did, according to the charging document.
Nuspl and Leslie met up and went back to the shooting scene, where Leslie grabbed Wood's phone and wallet. Leslie called 911 from Wood's phone and said, "I don't know why I'm calling you guys, but I'm thinking about robbing someone right now. It's probably not a good idea," according to court records.
Leslie and Nuspl admitted to the crime in a taped interview, according to the charging documents.
They're each charged with second-degree murder, attempted robbery and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutor Lohmar said the "felony murder rule" came in to play with the second-degree murder charge.
"If somebody’s involved in the commission of an inherently dangerous felony and the death of another person results, even if that person themselves didn’t cause the death, they can be held reliable for the death," Lohmar explained.
Leslie and Nuspl are being held at the St. Charles County Department of Corrections on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
