Homeowner shoots burglar, accomplice is charged with murder

ST. LOUIS - A man accused of burglary is also charged with second-degree murder after his alleged partner in the attempted break-in was shot dead by the home's owner, reports CBS St. Louis.

Officers responded to a home in St. Louis's Bevo Mill neighborhood Monday night, where a 17-year-old girl reported being confronted by two men with guns while outside getting something from her car, according to the station. She said the men demanded she return to her residence with them and began to walk her back inside.

CBS St. Louis reports the girl's father saw the suspects with his daughter and went to get his firearm, firing several rounds and striking both men as they entered his home.

Thirty-one-year-old Terrell Johnson collapsed on the living room floor and was pronounced dead at the scene, the station reports.

Police said the other burglar, Cortez McClinton, fled the scene on foot after being hit by gunfire. He reportedly contacted his brother, who took him to a hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the chest and both thighs. He was listed in critical but stable condition.

McClinton was charged with second-degree murder for the death of his alleged accomplice, and a judge ordered him held on a $1 million cash-only bond, the station reports. A spokesman for the circuit attorney's office told CBS St. Louis that if someone dies during the commission of a felony - even a suspect - murder charges can be filed. The charge is also referred to as felony murder.

McClinton, 33, is also charged with first-degree burglary, kidnapping and armed criminal action in connection with a fatal shooting

None of the burglary victims was harmed, according to CBS St. Louis. The 17-year-old girl's mother also fired at the suspects, though she did not hit either man.

Police told the station that no charges are currently being sought against the homeowners.