LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Lexington man is the city's ninth homicide of the year.
Police say 35-year-old Kevin Reel was shot and killed at the corner of West Short and North Limestone just before 3:00 a.m. when witnesses heard the commotion.
"I was selling a hat when I actually heard the shot go off down there just around the corner from my shop," said Nick Godbehere, who owns the downtown hat store, The Headquarters.
He said the news hit hard once he found out who the victim was.
"I didn't know who it was who got shot at the time til the next morning. I found out it was somebody that I knew."
Godbehere says Reel would sometimes stop in his shop to chat, but he didn't know much about the 35-year-old.
"We used to talk philosophy and politics a lot and intellectual conversations — seemed like a very well-spoken individual," said the store owner.
Lexington Police charged 31-year-old Scott Lawless with murder Sunday morning.
When LEX 18 went to a home listed as Lawless' address, an unknown man answered the door and said no comment.
A check of Lawless' history showed various traffic and alcohol-related offenses that included terroristic threatening - 3rd degree, disorderly conduct, and criminal mischief.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the murder charge Tuesday afternoon. Police have not said what led to the fatal shooting or if the two men knew each other.
