Charles Tinker, an 80-year-old man from Missouri, is facing a second-degree murder charge after allegedly shooting his roommate, Jon Lovelace, 52, over a rent dispute. According to authorities, Tinker had grown frustrated with Lovelace’s failure to contribute to the rent and other living expenses. The incident reportedly occurred after Tinker consumed four shots of whiskey.
The Taney County Sheriff’s Office received a distress call around 7 p.m. on November 2, reporting a shooting incident. Upon arrival, deputies discovered Lovelace with a gunshot wound. Despite attempts to airlift him to a trauma center, Lovelace was pronounced dead at the scene. Tinker was promptly identified as the shooter and was detained while a 9mm Ruger handgun was seized from the scene.
According to a witness cited in the probable cause affidavit, Tinker shot Lovelace in the stomach during a heated argument. Following the incident, Tinker was taken to a hospital to be medically cleared for confinement due to his admitted alcohol consumption. He was subsequently released into the custody of the Taney County Jail.
A search of the residence revealed a handgun magazine loaded with 9mm ammunition and spent 9mm shell casings. Tinker reportedly admitted to shooting Lovelace with the 9mm Ruger handgun, claiming that Lovelace had threatened to kill him. Tinker stated that he retrieved the gun from his bedroom and fired two warning shots behind a vehicle to scare off another individual, before firing two more shots at Lovelace.
Tinker claimed that he had intended to shoot Lovelace in the leg and was unsure of where he had hit him. After the shooting, Tinker did not provide aid, call 911, or check on Lovelace’s condition. He reportedly told investigators that Lovelace had not been contributing to the rent or other living expenses and had been pushing his buttons, leading to his breaking point.
Tinker also revealed that the tension between him and Lovelace had been building over time. He stated that Lovelace was unarmed and there was no physical altercation prior to the shooting. Tinker attributed his actions to a mix of fear for his safety and anger, exacerbated by his consumption of whiskey prior to the incident.