Austin Vines

Austin Vines, 25, and his dog were shot shot to death at a home near Fenton after Vines and his roommate Brenden Martorelli tried to remove two "meth addicts" from their house, Martorelli told the Post-Dispatch. Vines and his fiancée, Brittany Boschert, lived together at the home in the 600 block of Greenhurst Court, along with five other people. Boschert told the Post-Dispatch that all seven of the roommates wanted two newcomers, who had overstayed their welcome, on the couch to leave. “They were weird, and they were meth addicts,” she said. That led to a fistfight with another roommate, and the newcomers threatened to “come back with guns,” Martorelli said. They returned with relatives, including Tony D. Hager, Martorelli said. On the front lawn, the two sides got into a fight, and Vines spotted Hager with a gun, Martorelli said. When Nova, the dog, tried to join in, Hager shot the dog, Martorelli said. Seeing Nova hurt enraged Vines, who continued to fight before being shot twice, Martorelli said. St. Louis County prosecutors charged Hager, 22, of the 900 block of Scott Lane in Imperial, with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Boschert said Vines was protective and caring. “He stood up for what was right,” she said. He grew up in the Valles Mines area of Jefferson County and moved in with Boschert several years ago. He recently started working a night shift at a Circle K convenience store.