ST. GEORGE — A suspect has been charged in the death of a man who was shot and killed inside an apartment unit on South Dixie Drive.
On Saturday, the St. George Communications Center received a call from a man shortly before 7 a.m. reporting he had just shot someone at a residence at an apartment complex in the 800 block of S. Dixie Drive in St. George.
The 911 caller identified himself as KC Steven Comer, 30, of St. George, according to charging documents filed in support of the arrest.
Officers responded and initially detained two individuals, Comer and his wife, and inside the residence they found the victim, 37-year-old Ryan Golding Allen, dead from what appeared to be several traumatic injuries.
Detectives found near the bathroom multiple spent casings, which were collected as evidence. They also were advised of who had made the 911 call. Comer was taken into custody and transported to the St. George Police Department for an interview.
While speaking to detectives, the report states, Comer said he could hear the sound of an augment coming from that master bathroom between Allen and Comer’s wife. He went on to tell detectives he believed that Allen was suicidal and was armed with a gun at the time.
From there, the suspect retrieved his own firearm from his bedroom closet and checked to make sure it was loaded, “with a round in the chamber.” The detective noted in the report that Comer was “determined he was going to kill Ryan.”
Comer walked through the roommate’s bedroom and continued toward the master bathroom, where he said his wife and Allen still were arguing, and shortly after entering the elongated bathroom, the detective said, the suspect shot the roommate multiple times.
The suspect “was unsure how many times he discharged his weapon,” according to the report. “But stated he continued to fire until Ryan stopped moving.”
Detectives also learned during the interview that Comer and his wife had been living with the victim and that all three were in “a mutually intimate relationship” and had been for the past seven months or so.
Comer was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility, booked into jail and on Monday was formally charged with first-degree murder, as well as two misdemeanor charges of possession of a deadly weapon with intent to assault and discharging a firearm within city limits.
The defendant was scheduled to make an initial appearance before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow on Monday.
A review of court records indicated that Comer had two prior misdemeanor drug convictions before the incident on Saturday.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
ST. GEORGE NEWS Reporter Stephanie Degraw contributed to this report.
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