U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp has sentenced Moreion Lindsey, a resident of St. Louis County, Missouri, to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of a New Jersey man, Titus Armstead, in 2022. Lindsey, 35, was convicted in January by the U.S. District Court in St. Louis on charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Lindsey fatally shot Armstead in Penrose Park, St. Louis, on April 21, 2022. His actions were part of a plot masterminded by Jerome Williams and Ray Bradley. Bradley, who was involved in drug trafficking, wrongly accused Armstead of stealing drugs and money from a stash house in New Jersey. Armstead was lured to St. Louis under the guise of protection, but Bradley's actual intent was to have him murdered.
Evidence showed that Lindsey met Armstead at the airport and drove him to the park where he executed the murder using a .45-caliber handgun. He then documented the crime scene with a photo of the body on a prepaid "burner" phone to confirm the death to Williams and Bradley. Lindsey received $15,000 for committing the crime. Williams later destroyed evidence, including the burner phone and Armstead’s belongings.
In her victim impact statement, Armstead’s sister expressed dismay over Lindsey's choices, reflecting on the consequences of his actions. She wrote: “Moreion Lindsey, you threw away your life for $15,000—an amount you could have earned in six months of full-time work at minimum wage.” She further highlighted the impact on Lindsey’s family due to his life sentence.
Williams, 52, admitted guilt in December for destroying evidence to impede a federal investigation and was sentenced to 138 months in prison on April 23. Ray Bradley, 46, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, receiving a 25-year prison sentence in September.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Atlanta Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.