A Fort Wayne man was charged Wednesday in the shooting death of another man last month that police said was drug-related.

Khristopher Harvey, 22, faces formal charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. He had not yet been arrested Wednesday night.

Police said Harvey is responsible for the shooting death of 24-year-old Maurio Kerone Edwards at a south-side apartment June 2. Edwards was found by officers with a gunshot wound to the head outside 1304 Fayette Drive, at Stephanie Villas apartments.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to a witness statement in court records filed Wednesday, Edwards received a cell phone call moments before the shooting. After answering the phone, Edwards said "OK, I will be down." He began to walk down an open stairway between four units in the two-story building off Decatur Road and was shot, police said.

When the witness saw Edwards about 30 seconds later, he was bleeding, and she called 911, according to court records.

About the same time, a different witness had offered to give Harvey a ride to the apartment complex where Edwards was. Harvey made a cell phone call and said, "We’re outside." Harvey then walked toward the apartment building where Edwards was, and shots were fired, according to court records.

Harvey came back to the car with a revolver in his hand and blood on his clothes and told the man behind the wheel to drive away, court records said. When the driver asked Harvey what happened, Harvey told him, "It wasn’t your concern."

Police said the homicide was drug-related. The witness driving Harvey told police, "they were going to buy some weed," court records said.

Harvey was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2005 for dealing cocaine or a narcotic drug, according to the Indiana Department of Correction Web site. Prisoners in Indiana receive one day of credit for each served with good behavior in prison or in jail before sentencing, potentially cutting their sentences in half.

habrams@jg.net