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Burlco man charged in shooting death of former employer

A Burlington County man was charged Monday in the shooting death of his former employer, whose body was found Friday in his Tabernacle home, authorities said.

A Burlington County man was charged Monday in the shooting death of his former employer, whose body was found Friday in his Tabernacle home, authorities said.

David Stead, 42, of Pemberton Township, was charged with first-degree murder, robbery, weapons offenses, and related charges in the death of Thomas Wright II, 49, who was shot and killed inside his home on the 100 block of Patty Bowker Road in Tabernacle Township, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.

Wright operated a business out of his home called Artisan Building Creations and would have celebrated his 50th birthday later this month, prosecutors said.

Wright's father found his son's body on the floor of his home about 4:30 p.m. Friday. He had gone to check on his son after he hadn't shown up at a job site that day, the Prosecutor's Office said. The father called 911.

The investigation revealed that Stead, who was previously employed by Wright, went to the home to rob him early Friday morning, the office said.

Stead shot Wright multiple times in the head and neck, then fled with a small amount of cash in a rented pickup truck that was being used by Wright, prosecutors said. The truck was discovered late Sunday on Colemans Bridge Road, less than a mile from Stead's residence on the 800 block of Pemberton Browns Mills Road, prosecutors said.

New Jersey State Police investigated the shooting. Authorities said an autopsy conducted during the weekend by the county Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide.

Stead did not make $1 million bail and was placed in the Burlington County Jail. He is expected to appear in Superior Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

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