ST. LOUIS — A violent attack in south St. Louis left a man dead, but the person who pulled the trigger is not being charged with a crime.
It’s because St. Louis police said the man who died broke into a home, and the man inside shot and killed that intruder, possibly in self-defense.
The incident happened in the 3700 block of Texas street on Friday evening.
Some people in the area like Luke Reeves said they saw the man speeding down this street, and they had a feeling something bad was about to happen.
"He jumped out of his car here and he appeared to have a weapon on his hip and just caused a big scene," Reeves said.
Police said 58-year-old Dale Lecuru was the person shot to death and the people nearby who saw him before said they were finishing their work just before it happened.
"We were working late and a guy comes around the corner speeding obviously intoxicated or under the influence of something," Reeves said. "He was screaming and yelling you know, I don't know but he was here to cause a problem with somebody."
Officers said Lecuru forced his way into a home on the block that’s when an argument broke out, there was a struggle and then Lecuru was shot by that homeowner. And Lecuru's partner of 14 years, Patricia Boston, said he knew his killer, and that Lecuru struggled with drinking and mental illness.
"He battled with schizophrenia you know he would have confrontations maybe you know get into a fight or something but, I never dreamed it would escalate so far that I would lose him,” Boston said.
And although she knows what he did was wrong, she said it's still tough to be left now, with nothing but memories.
"He was the most wonderful man I ever knew, even with his problems," Boston said.
Currently, police are classifying this case as a burglary. However, homicide detectives are still investigating, to see if this case falls under Missouri's stand your ground law.
