A 47-year-old St. Cloud man said he argued with a 43-year-old man before fatally shooting him amid a gathering of acquaintances at a mobile home, according to charges.
Leun Thongpasom, who lived in the same park where the shooting occurred, was charged Monday in Benton County District Court with second-degree murder and remains in jail.
The victim, Ki Nahouakhong, also of St. Cloud, was shot once in the chest and found face-down by police shortly after midnight Sunday.
According to the charges:
Thongpasom told police that he argued with Nahouakhong, and the conflict became physical.
Thongpasom said he reached into his jacket pocket for a handgun and the weapon then discharged. Thongpasom put the gun in a snowbank and got into his car, where he was arrested a few hours later.
The gun was recovered. The defendant's jacket had no bullet hole, indicating that the weapon had gone off after being taken out of the pocket.
The St. Cloud Times reports that Nahouakhong was a suspect in a stabbing in January in which Thongpasom was reported to be the victim. No charges were filed because police couldn't substantiate the stabbing report, the Times said.
