Myles K. Stout, 20, was charged early this morning with reckless homicide
after he told Hamilton County Sheriff's Office detectives he shot and killed 18-year-old Jesse Compton. Stout said he thought the gun was unloaded and they were horseplaying.Charges against a 20-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a friend in the chest have been upgraded to second-degree murder.
Myles K. Stout, who initially was charged with reckless homicide in the March 9 death of 18-year-old Myles Compton, is expected to appear before General Sessions Judge David Bales this morning.
Authorities also tacked on a charge of tampering with evidence Wednesday to a growing list of charges against Stout, including reckless endangerment with a weapon and filing a false police report.
A bond has not been set on most of the charges. Stout remains in jail on a $25,000 bond on the reckless homicide charge.
During interviews with investigators from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, Stout said he thought the gun was unloaded when he pointed it at Compton and pulled the trigger.
But witnesses told investigators that Kevin Driscoll, who had about six young adults over at his parents' home at 9125 Stoney Mountain Drive in East Brainerd, unloaded the weapons before passing them around. Stout apparently reloaded the gun before firing it at Compton, authorities said.
An autopsy report released this week showed a single gunshot wound to Compton's chest from a .38-caliber gun. The bullet stopped just short of exiting Compton's body through his back, the autopsy showed.
Stout initially told emergency personnel in a 911 call that Compton shot himself.
After detectives arrived, Stout told the same story to investigators until they confronted him with witness testimony. Only then did he admit to shooting Compton, according to reports.