Details emerge from July 4 shooting murder

Tucker charged with murder, other crimes stemming from confrontation over possible theft
 
A Walnut Grove man is facing charges after allegedly shooting and killing a man on Sunday, July 4. Lakota Tucker, 20, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Cory Estey, 47, also of Walnut Grove. Additionally, Tucker faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.
According to the probable cause statement, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) received a call at 7:45 p.m. from Estey, in which he said a person was trespassing at a property on the 8700 block of N. Farm Road 43. Ten minutes later, the GCSO received a call from someone else stating a person had been shot at the house.
GCSO deputies arrived to find Estey deceased from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. According to the probable cause statement, Tucker approached the deputies about 45 minutes after the alleged shooting and said, “I’m the shooter. I’m the one who shot him.”
Tucker was taken into custody and, in a post-Miranda interview, said that his mother had lived at the residence until her death in April of this year, and while he himself hadn’t lived there since 2019, he believed he had permission to go onto the property and take possession of some of her belongings.
Tucker said he arrived at the dwelling and found a dining table outside of the house, which he loaded into his truck. He said he then went to retrieve a deer stand he left there, and fired a rifle he had with him in an attempt to break the chain securing the stand to the tree. When he was unable to break the chain, Tucker said, he went back towards the house. Tucker also said he never entered the dwelling.
As he approached the building, Tucker said, he saw a vehicle parked near the driveway and an individual, later identified as Estey, “powerwalking” towards him. He said Estey demanded to know why he was there; Tucker said he told Estey he believed he had a right to be there to collect personal property.
Tucker said Estey also demanded that Tucker get out of his truck so he could take Tucker’s information; Tucker also said Estey told him he’d called law enforcement. During the exchange, Tucker said, he started his vehicle to leave, but Estey told him he was not leaving with the table; Tucker also told the deputy interviewing him that Estey said, “If you wanna start shooting, we’ll shoot.”
Tucker stated that Estey ran behind his (Tucker’s) vehicle, and he said he heard Estey shout, “I’m grabbing my gun; I’m shootin’!” Then, Tucker said, Estey started running towards the west side of the house.
At that point, Tucker said, he pointed his weapon out the window in Estey’s “general direction,” fired two shot and “floored it.”
Afterwards, Tucker said he went home, took a prescription medication belonging to his father to calm down, and after showering, decided to return to the scene. He told the deputy he encountered, “I’m the one who shot,” at which point he was detained. According to the probable cause statement, he did not yet know that Estey had been shot.
During his interview, Tucker said he thought he’d hit some trees. He told the deputy interviewing him, “I didn’t want to kill him; I just wanted to f---ing scare him.” Toward the end of the interview, Tucker started crying and said, “It could have been handled a lot different.”
Deputies also interviewed Audree Crain, Estey’s fiancée. She said she and Estey were by a river near the house when they heard gunshots. Crain said Estey had some tools stored on the property and was concerned about someone being there. She said he went there to the house, and then called her told her on the phone, “He has a gun, call the police.” After that, the call ended.
Deputies searched Tucker’s house, where they found his rifle. They also checked his truck, where they found several spent shell casings.
As of press time, Tucker remained in the custody of the Greene County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 open-court only bond. If he is released on bond, Tucker will be fitted with a GPS device and placed under house arrest.