A teenager in Missouri is charged with murder after shooting a man 14 times before hiding his body inside an air mattress.
Authorities say that Jackson L. Pierce, 18, confessed to killing Dalton Coleman, 23, after an altercation Monday at a residence in St. Peters.
Pierce told officers, “I knew him, but he had forced his way into my bedroom and tried to hit me. I picked up my gun on the table by my bed before he could grab it. I saw him looking at it.”
Authorities said that Pierce admitted he then fired the entire clip before he saw Coleman collapse to the floor.
Another unidentified juvenile was also arrested at the scene along with Pierce after he admitted the juvenile helped him attempt to clean up the scene. They used dish soap and towels to try and wipe the area up inside the room before wrapping Coleman up inside an air mattress.
Coleman’s body was found with a garbage bag over his head in the rolled-up air mattress, which was tightly tied with an electrical cord.
Police were alerted to the scene when legal counsel for a witness who shared a residence with Pierce contacted authorities wanting to report a possible homicide.
The witness told police, “I left the house before the altercation, but Jackson called me several times to tell me he was having difficulties with Dalton. I tried to calm him over the phone.”
“He then called me again a short time later. He told me he had ended up killing him after Dalton tried to hit him,” the witness continued to explain.
The victim then told Pierce to call the police, but he refused, prompting the witness and his attorney to contact the department.
After being arrested, Pierce said “Dog, I shoulda f–kin called the cops myself, I shoulda called the cops myself, bro. I am, I am dumb as s–t,” according to the probable cause statement.
Pierce was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence and abandonment of a corpse. Court records indicate that he pleaded not guilty and was assigned a public defender.
St. Peters police say the juvenile was conveyed to family court for charges. It is not clear if he has been charged yet.
