A Missouri teenager is facing murder charges after investigators said he shot a man 15 times then tried to conceal the crime scene and the victim's body.
In a probable cause statement, police said they learned of the crime when 18-year-old Jackson Pierce's roommate reported it, saying he told legal counsel after Pierce said he wouldn't call authorities himself.
The roommate told police he had departed the St. Charles County residence he shared with Pierce early Jan. 8, leaving behind the suspect, an unidentified juvenile, and the victim — Pierce's 23-year-old acquaintance, Dalton Coleman.
Soon after leaving, the witness said Pierce called him complaining about Coleman, saying the victim had been asking for unknown belongings and acting erratically, according to the probable cause statement. Pierce told the witness he then separated himself and the juvenile from Coleman, bringing valuable items — including a firearm — with him.
Minutes later, the witness said Pierce called again to say he had shot and killed the victim following an altercation.
Upon hearing the witness recount the events, St. Charles County SWAT arrived at the residence and ordered the occupants out. Pierce and the juvenile exited and were taken into custody, with the former allegedly saying, "I shoulda called the cops myself … I am dumb as f***," according to the probable cause statement.
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After agreeing to speak to police, Pierce alleged Coleman had forced his way into the upstairs bedroom where he and the juvenile were and then tried to punch the teenager. Pierce said he then saw Coleman make a move toward the firearm Pierce had placed on the bedside table, which prompted Pierce to grab it first, documents state.
Pierce said he shot Coleman before the victim could touch the gun, firing his first bullet into the 23-year-old's abdomen. After the victim didn't go down, Pierce said he fired 14 times until there were no more bullets, though a preliminary autopsy of the victim's body later showed approximately 15 gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hand and face.
The teenager said he and the juvenile attempted to clean the crime scene after the shooting using towels and dish soap on the carpet and placing the victim's body in another upstairs bedroom's closet.
During a search of the home, local SWAT discovered Coleman's body inside of a rolled-up air mattress with a plastic garbage bag secured around his head, tied with an electrical cord cut from a nearby lamp.
Pierce has now been charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with physical evidence. He's being held in the St. Charles County Jail on a $1 million dollar cash-only bond.
The juvenile suspect also remains in custody and will face charges in St. Charles County Family Court.
