Nathaniel Hendren, the 29-year-old St. Louis Cop charged with killing colleague Katlyn Alix during a game of Russian roulette, is now accused of also drinking on the job, according to KMOV. A disciplinary document filed 1:30 a.m. on January 24 says Hendren and partner Patrick Riordan imbibed that night.
Lt. William Brown wrote that the officers broke a regulation stating, “No employee shall report for duty or remain on duty with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater. Moreover, no employee shall consume alcohol while on duty and/or engaged in City business.”
Hendren and Alix were playing Russian roulette at his home on January 24 with a revolver filled with just one bullet, according to the probable cause statement. They took turns until the second time Hendren pulled the trigger. He aimed at Alix, squeezed, and fatally struck her in the chest, authorities claim. The victim was 24.
Prosecutors said this happened while the defendant and Riordan were on duty. Alix was off shift at this time.
Statement by @StLouisCityCA and charges regarding the homicide of @SLMPD officer Katlyn Alix. pic.twitter.com/cEryROo1kF
— Circuit Attorney (@stlcao) January 26, 2019
Hendren, who is charged with one count each of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal activity, showed up for his mugshot with a black eye. Cops said he injured himself that night by headbutting and smashing the back-window of a police SUV after taking Alix to a hospital.
Prosecutors say Riordan was at the residence during the shooting. He reportedly told Hendren and Alix they shouldn’t be playing Russian roulette, then prepared to leave because he was uncomfortable with the game and didn’t want anything to do with it, but heard a gunshot before getting out of there. He returned to the room to find Alix shot in the chest, authorities said.
His attorney James Towey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday that yes, Riordan sipped from some beer at the residence, but poured out the rest in the sink, and “blew all zeros” in a breath test administered after the shooting.
Hendren’s lawyer Talmage Newton IV claimed cops and prosecutors were “providing information to everyone but me,” and said he could not comment on Hendren’s alcohol and drug screening because he lacked the results.
Prosecutors and police previously butted heads on the case. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner claimed in a letter dated Monday that cops were using an “obstructionist tactic” to stop her office from obtaining a blood sample from Hendren.
“I think that this case is at the very beginning,” Newton said in another article after a court appearance. “The police report is not complete. Any of the facts and evidence are not in public domain right now. The statements that were made are based purely on the state’s allegations, the complaint and the charging document. I again urge everyone to keep an open mind and wait to see all of the facts when they come out. Then we can make decisions about what we believe happened in that room that day.”
Hendren is out on bail.
[Mugshot via St. Louis County Jail]
