Michael Mitchell

The man shot to death in an apparent dispute with his landlord in the Benton Park West neighborhood has been identified as 56-year-old Michael Mitchell. Mitchell lived in the 2800 block of Ohio Avenue, where he was shot on Sept. 29. He died at a hospital. Police released Mitchell's name this week. Prosecutors have charged his landlord, Roger Dale Huddleston, in the killing. Huddleston, 69, is jailed without bond on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Police said Huddleston shot Mitchell in the head and kicked the body. Huddleston had filed suit against Mitchell about three weeks before the killing. In an affidavit filed Sept. 9, Huddleston claimed that Mitchell owed him $1,550 toward the second-floor unit that rents for $700 a month. A judge issued a summons for Mitchell to appear in court for the landlord-tenant dispute on Oct. 18. After the killing, officers found surveillance video that captured the shooting, according to court papers. The video shows Mitchell hunched over in pain holding his arm, then after 15 seconds, Mitchell was shot in the head, police said. Huddleston then kicked the victim's body, police said. Police arrested Huddleston and showed him the video. "When the defendant was shown the video of the incident, he stated that, at the time the victim would have been shot in the head, the shooting would have been "unjustified" and the victim would not have been a threat at that point," St. Louis police Det. Michael Kegel said in a probable cause statement. Huddleston's address is also listed as the 2800 block of Ohio Avenue. He does not have an attorney listed in court records.