In what appeared to be a protective measure, Titus Alexander Armstead, a 46-year-old man, was flown from New Jersey to St. Louis, Missouri. However, this journey, orchestrated by Ray Bradley, was a deceptive ruse leading to his murder. Armstead was fatally shot on April 21, 2022, in Penrose Park in north St. Louis. Police discovered his body face down with multiple gunshot wounds around 12:45 a.m.
the following day.
The investigation that followed unraveled a murder-for-hire plot rooted in the drug trade. Bradley, a trafficker of cocaine and marijuana, wrongly accused Armstead of stealing drugs and a large sum of money from a stash house in New Jersey. To cover up this alleged theft, Bradley arranged for Armstead's murder. He purchased Armstead's plane ticket, leading him to believe he was being sent to St. Louis for his safety. In reality, Bradley had coordinated with Jerome Williams in St. Louis, who knew someone willing to carry out the killing.
Moreion Lindsey was the man hired for the job. He picked Armstead up from the airport on the evening of April 21st and drove him directly to Penrose Park. There, Lindsey shot Armstead with a. 45-caliber handgun. As proof of the completed act, Lindsey photographed Armstead's body with a prepaid 'burner' phone and sent the image to Williams and Bradley. For his role in the murder, Lindsey was paid $15,000 by Williams. In an attempt to cover their tracks, Williams disposed of evidence, including the burner phone and Armstead's personal belongings, and Lindsey reported the SUV used in the crime as stolen.
The collaborative investigation by the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department led to the arrests of all three men. Ray Bradley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jerome Williams, who had ties to the city's Cure Violence Program, pleaded guilty to a charge of destruction of evidence and was sentenced to 138 months in prison. Moreion Lindsey was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire and received a mandatory life sentence.
