Man faces murder charges in shooting death of 24-year-old from Belton
Days after a Belton man was shot to death outside his home, police have announced an arrest and a murder charge filed in the case.
Belton police said Demetrius Dontae Singh, 21, is in custody in connection to the death of 24-year-old Mason R. Teel.
Singh is charged with first-degree murder.
Police and family members earlier identified Teel as the victim of the fatal shooting, which happened earlier this week.
Teel was found dead on an icy driveway outside his home in the 200 block of Manor Drive about 2 a.m. Monday, leaving family members trying to piece together what happened to Teel that morning and why he was shot.
His death marked the first homicide of 2019 reported in the city.
Teel had just celebrated his birthday last Friday, according to his aunt April Holmes.
Holmes and her family sought to find the person responsible for her nephew’s death. The nephew who “spent so many summers, weekends and holidays” at her home playing outside in the creek and mud, shooting paintball guns and playing video games with her son, Skyler, and their cousin, Weston.
“He was like our son. My son and him and their other cousin, they were like the ‘Three Amigos.’ They were inseparable,” said Holmes, who lives in Odessa. “It’s devastating because we’re not going to see that handsome young man’s face again.”
He had “the most beautiful smile,” Holmes recalled. And he never left friends and family without giving a hug and saying “I love you.”
Early on in the investigation, the family feared the person who shot Teel was someone he knew, someone Teel may have had contact with before he walked outside his home and was hit by gunfire.
Teel was wearing no shoes and no coat when police found him unresponsive in front of a home he shared with roommates, Holmes said.
On Friday, family members felt relieved to hear a suspect had been taken into custody but were shocked to learn the young man who was taken into custody was one of Teel’s friends, a person Teel had known since childhood.
On behalf of the family, Holmes thanked Belton police and the Kansas City Metro Squad for “putting in countless hours” on the case.
She added relatives are anxious to find out if others were involved in Teel’s death.
In the meantime, the aunt set up a GoFundMe page and a Facebook fundraiser to help Teel’s mother, Crystal, raise money to cover funeral expenses. Friends and community members have also brought meals to show their support. As of Friday, both pages raised more than $6,900.
“Mason’s life was taken from us and not at his choice, and that’s not something easy to deal with,” Holmes said. “You never know this will happen to you until it does. It just flips your entire world upside down.”
Singh remains in the Cass County jail with bond set at $1 million cash. A court date has not been set.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Belton Police Det. Richardson or Det. DeCook at 816-331-5522 or call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 2:24 PM.
