Isaiah Lee Morales, a 19-year-old Hispanic male, was working as a contractor for a local big-box store in Tea, South Dakota, in the spring of 2024. A fundraiser organized for his family described him as a young man whose love for God, his family, and his girlfriend was unsurpassed. His life was cut short in a violent encounter on June 3, 2024.
That morning, around 11 a.m., a physical confrontation broke out in an apartment parking lot on Carla Avenue.
According to court documents, 59-year-old Timothy Overton had brought a gun and brass knuckles to the location, placing the firearm inside his truck. When Isaiah confronted him, the two men began to fight. Investigators alleged that Overton used the brass knuckles during the altercation. At one point, Isaiah, who had a knife, reportedly had Overton pinned against the truck. Overton then reached into the vehicle, grabbed his gun, and fired a single shot over his shoulder, striking Isaiah in the head.
Police arrived to find Isaiah gravely wounded; he received medical attention but did not survive. Three days later, authorities arrested Overton on charges from a separate, unrelated assault case. He remained in custody while police conducted a nine-week investigation into Isaiah's death. This investigation revealed that on the morning of the shooting, Overton had allegedly sent harassing messages to a supervisor at the store where Isaiah worked. The supervisor filed for a protection order against Overton just days after the homicide, citing a history of threatening behavior.
On July 31, 2024, a Lincoln County grand jury indicted Timothy Overton on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and interference with emergency communications, the last charge stemming from accusations he prevented a woman at the scene from calling for help. At his arraignment in August, Overton pleaded not guilty. A judge set his bond at $1 million and issued a no-contact order with Isaiah's family.
Overton’s defense team sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing he acted in self-defense under South Dakota's "stand your ground" law and claiming that Isaiah had assaulted him first. In September 2024, a Lincoln County judge denied the motion. In the ruling, the judge determined Overton could not claim self-defense because he was engaged in criminal activity by arming himself with brass knuckles and striking Isaiah. The ruling also noted that evidence suggested Isaiah had put down his knife at one point to talk and was only trying to restrain Overton from grabbing the gun. With the self-defense claim denied, the murder case against Timothy Overton was cleared to move forward to trial as of September 2024. He has not been convicted.
