In the fall of 2018, the life of 38-year-old Lionel Anthony Brown, a male, was tragically cut short in a St. Louis scrap yard. His body was discovered on a Sunday, the day after the fatal encounter, in a salvage yard located in the 4800 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. The initial investigation began after the Shot Spotter system detected gunfire in the area on Saturday morning, though responding officers found the yard locked and initially saw no cause for alarm.
The narrative of
what transpired came into focus with the confession of Charles A. Lay, a 46-year-old man who was living in a trailer on the property owned by a relative. According to his statement to the police, the incident was a tragic mistake. Lay claimed that he was startled when Brown suddenly appeared from behind a stack of tires. Reacting instinctively, he fired his weapon, killing Brown. In an attempt to conceal the crime, Lay admitted to encasing the firearm in concrete.
Further investigation into Lay's background revealed a history of felony convictions, including a charge for felony assault and armed criminal action in 1994, which legally prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Following his admission to the shooting, Charles A. Lay was taken into custody and charged with involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was subsequently held on a $50,000 bond. Lionel Anthony Brown was lost to gun violence on September 16, 2018.
