St. Louis News Blog

Garvin Brown died around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, February 6, after being shot several times in the neck, chest and shoulder. 

According to reports, Brown, 29, was shot in the 3600 block of Herbert but managed to drive his vehicle a few hundred feet before crashing into a fire hydrant at the corner of Herbert and N. Spring (below) near Fairground Park.
 

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DeAngelo Eiland

​DeAngelo Eiland was shot to death Wednesday night at the intersection of 6th Street and Audubon Avenue in East St. Louis -- ending the city's three-and-a-half-month stretch with no homicides.

Police discovered Eiland's body around 11:15 p.m. on February 3.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports today that Eiland, 30, was placed on parole October 27 after serving a year in prison for drug dealing and possession.

His sister told the paper that he left home earlier that night with two women she did not know.

Marquis Jones, 26, and Keairrah Johnson, 23, were driving down the 4200 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive around 6 p.m. yesterday when they pulled over to await some friends following them in another vehicle.

The pit stop would prove to be a deadly decision. Moments later a dark colored Chevrolet Impala stopped alongside their vehicle and riddled it with bullets fired from an AK-47 or perhaps an SKS assault rifle.


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Police have arrested a teenager for the murder yesterday of David Moore.

Moore, 37, was found shot multiple times in the head and once in the chest, around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, January 31, in the 2000 block of East De Soto.


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St. Louis police report four separate shootings on Wednesday. The first occurred around 5 p.m. in the 4700 block of Bircher in north St. Louis.
 

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According to police a victim described as an 18-year-old black male was at a gas station with two friends when a car drove on the lot. The victim stated occupants in that car began shooting at him as he was seated in another vehicle.

He was shot multiple times in the shoulder and hand and taken to an area hospital by friends. No scene could be located and gas station employees indicated they did not see or hear anything. The investigation is ongoing.

The second shooting occurred around 20 minutes later -- approximately 5:22 p.m. -- at a north St. Louis tattoo studio.

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The dubious distinction was bestowed upon the Show-Me State by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit in a report published today on black victims of violence.

With 235 African-American homicide victims in 2007 (a per capita rate of 34.8 per 100,000), Missouri trailed only Pennsylvania as the most deadly state for blacks. Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin round out the top five. The rankings are based on "previously unpublished FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data."

Interestingly, the report found that the average age of the victims was 30 years old, a stat that makes for an interesting comparison to the recent number-crunching done by the RFT's own Chad Garrison. Analyzing data from just St. Louis, he found that roughly a third of the city's homicide victims over the past three years have been 21 years old or younger.

A less surprising fact from the latest findings? The study found that firearms, usually handguns, were the weapon of choice in 84 percent of the murders.

Read the full report entitled "Black Homicide Vicitimization in the United States" after the jump.

Wikimedia Commons

​Lawyer Brad Ketcher has had three ballot-initiative petitions pertaining to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department approved by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, her office announced yesterday.

St. Louis police this weekend made public the name of the victim shot to death Thursday night in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood.


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Alan Sindelar, of the 4600 block of Wilcox in south St. Louis, was about ten blocks from his home on Thursday, January 14, when he got in an altercation in the 3400 block of Morganford.

Anthony Tibbs, 43, was murdered last night around 7 p.m. as he drove down Interstate 70 in north St. Louis.

St. Louis police report that Tibbs, of the 8300 block of Fairbanks, was heading eastbound on the interstate near Salisbury Avenue when he was shot multiple times.


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Witnesses stated that it appeared Tibbs had been followed and targeted by persons in another vehicle. Police are not releasing a description of the vehicle at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS. Callers may remain anonymous. 

St. Louis County Police Department

Shafthianos Hudson Jr.

​St. Louis County police have filed charges against the man accused of killing 18-year-old Joseph L. Davis last Sunday, January 10 in north county.

According to police, Davis, of the 1200 block of Edgewater in Bellefontaine Neighbors, was involved in a "sales transaction" with Shafthianos Hudson Jr., 20, of East St. Louis around 6 p.m. Sunday evening. Following the sale of what police say was a "legal item" (an investigation is ongoing into whether the item may have been stolen), an altercation developed and Hudson gave chase of Davis' vehicle.

Davis was shot dead in the driver's side of a 2001 Mazda 626 around 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Glen Owen Drive and Nemnich Avenue in Dellwood.

Hudson, of the 1300 block of St. Vita in East St. Louis, was charged yesterday with one count of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action. He's being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond. 

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

A street memorials honors Robert Walker, a 17-year-old gunned down in St. Louis in 2006.

​Last week I asked the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to provide me with some raw numbers concerning homicides.

In particular, I was interested in knowing how many teenagers died last year -- and in recent years -- as a result of violence in St. Louis. I asked for this information because based on the details of murders reported in our crime section, "The Big Bloody", it seems that adolescents account for at least one-third of all homicides in St. Louis.

I was wrong -- but not by much. A look at the numbers...

In what has to be one of the most cold-blooded killings in recent memory, St. Louis police say Lamont Collins, 36, was run over last night as he lay beaten in the street.

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. at the intersection of Kossuth and Peck streets in north St. Louis.

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Police says Collins, of the 5600 block of Wren, was inside Marsha's LTD Bar & Grill located at 3501 Kossuth on Tuesday night when he got into an argument with five other patrons described only as two black females and three black males. The argument turned physical and soon spilled its way into the street.

St. Louis police are searching for a 24-year-old suspect they believe shot and killed Bryan D. Neal, 23, during an argument Monday night.

The crime occurred in a second-floor bedroom in the 3900 block of Natural Bridge Road around 11:56 p.m. January 11.


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This morning police provided the following account of the murder:

Police say that Shonta Roper shot her boyfriend, Terrell Hadley, in the eye after an argument at his home Friday night in the 5500 block of Ashland (near Belt Avenue) in north St. Louis.


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As reported last night, St. Louis police say four people, including the gunman, died yesterday in a deadly assault at the ABB Incorporated plant in north St. Louis. Five others were taken to the hospital where as of last night two remained in critical condition and two more in fair condition. A fifth shooting victim was treated and released yesterday. 

Early this morning police released the names and descriptions of those who died. They are:

• Carlton J. Carter, a 57-year-old black male of the 6000 block of Henner in St. Louis. Carter was shot once in the head and was found outside the building. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Terry Mabry, a 55-year-old white male of the 30 block of S. Shetland Trails in Moscow Mills, Missouri. Mabry was shot once in the leg and once in the head. He was found outside the building and pronounced dead at the scene.
• Cory Wilson, a 27-year-old white male of the 200 block of N. Combs in Collinsville, Illinois. Wilson was shot once in the shoulder and once in the head. He was found inside the building and pronounced dead at the scene.
• Suspected gunman Timothy G. Hendron, a 51-year-old white male of the 300 block of Dobbin Road in Webster Groves. Hendron died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound underneath the chin. He was found inside the building and pronounced dead at the scene.

The death of Carrie Shaw was allegedly over a drug deal gone-bad, but you wouldn't know it by this headline that is still live on a local news Web site. Other news outlets, including us, included the all-important "possible" or "alleged" in the headline. 

A mother from Columbia, Illinois, was killed early Sunday morning around 3:30 a.m. after a suspected drug buy in south St. Louis.

Carrie Shaw, 40, was shot several times while entering the southbound Interstate 55 ramp off South 7th Street. Her car crashed following the shooting. She was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.


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Kyle D. Starks

​A Metro East family mourns the death of Tyra Whittaker, who died Sunday night of a slash-wound to her neck, allegedly at the hands of her former boyfriend.

Police officials say Kyle D. Starks, 19, of Cahokia, slashed the neck of Whittaker, 18, with a "razor knife", after she tried to break up with him at his home. Whittaker was a resident of nearby Washington Park.

The two were to be married this coming Valentine's Day, according to one report.

​ This year's murder rate shouldn't eclipse last year's homicide numbers. (At least not in the city limits of St. Louis where police report 143 killings through December 21 compared to 165 by the same date in 2008.)

Still, 2009 provided plenty of horrific and senseless murders in a city known as one of America's most dangerous. Here in ascending order are what Daily RFT considered to be the worst of those crimes. 

10. Eat-Rite Slaying

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenstein/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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D'Angelo Tate

​Shevette Chambers shared a meal August 16 with known thug D'Angelo Tate and several other people at the popular downtown diner, Eat-Rite. Upon leaving the restaurant around 3 a.m., Tate's girlfriend showed up in the parking lot and confronted her hubbie about being with Chambers. The two women got into an argument that ended when Tate allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and fired four bullets into Chambers, leaving her dead.

 

Charles W. Kemp, 18, didn't have to pop the lock with a screwdriver, or bust out the window of the pickup he was trying to steal on Sunday morning. It was unlocked and the engine was already running.

But while the theft might have appeared easy, Kemp probably didn't count on the truck's owner shooting him dead.

The truck in question was a black, 1999 Ford F-150 extended cab, similar to the one below, according to Michelle Robertson of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

It was a deadly Saturday this past weekend in St. Louis.

Early in the day -- around 8:30 a.m. -- police discovered a man shot to death in an apartment in the 2900 block of California in south St. Louis.


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Police suspect that the victim, described as a man in his 50s, was killed during a drug deal.

A couple hours later -- around 10:45 a.m. -- police responded to the 4500 block of Aldine in north St. Louis.

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Nemsky

​Law officers in Madison County, Illinois, charged two individuals earlier this week with the killing of 19-year-old Stephen C. Nemsky.

Nemsky, of Granite City, was found near his vehicle around 10:30 p.m. last Thursday in the 4100 block of Division Street in his hometown. He had been shot once in the neck.

As reported in the Belleville News-Democrat, the deceased was allegedly attempting to purchase marijuana the night of December 10 from 16-year-old Javeon D. Hawkins and 21-year-old Vincent R. Blue.

Dajuan Drake

​St. Louis police yesterday charged Dajuan Keith Drake, 29, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Sunday morning shooting of Kenyetta Brown.

Brown, 18, was shot in the head and torso around 10 a.m. December 13 in the 6200 block of Emma where she lived. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Drake, of the 1600 block of N. 18th Street, is being held on a $750,000 bond.

'Twas another bloody Sunday in St. Louis yesterday with police responding to three separate shootings.

The first occurred around 10 a.m. yesterday morning in the 6200 block of Emma in north St. Louis, near the intersection with Goodfellow Boulevard.


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That's where police arrived to find 18-year-old Kenyetta Brown shot in the torso and head. She was declared dead on the scene. Police later arrested Brown's boyfriend -- who's yet to be identified.

The day's second shooting occurred around 9:15 p.m. in the 5900 block of Lucille near Riverview Boulevard.

Travis Moore, 28, was killed last night at the intersection of Kingshighway and Lexington.


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St. Louis police say Moore, of the 5100 block of Enright, pulled up to the intersection around 8:09 p.m. Wednesday. While stopped at the light, a gray, late-model vehicle pulled up alongside Moore's car. Moments later shots rang out from the gray vehicle, striking Moore in the head.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation is ongoing.

Court records indicate that a man with the same name and age of Moore pleaded guilty in St. Louis Circuit Court this past March for marijuana possession, driving with a revoked license and unlawful use of a weapon.

St. Louis police report that James Brown, 36, was discovered dead in a vehicle Tuesday night in the 5600 block of Maffitt Avenue in north city.


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The 5600 block of Maffitt as viewed from Clara Avenue.

Police responded to the scene around 10:10 p.m. Tuesday where they discovered the victim in an auto. He had been shot multiple times in the head and face.

Police say Brown was a federal parolee, though they did not elaborate on why he'd served time. An investigation is ongoing.

Arlanda McCelleary

​The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office on Friday issued charges of first-degree murder and armed-criminal action against Arlanda McCelleary, 41, of the 3600 block of Gasconade in south city.

McCelleary is charged with stabbing her ex-boyfriend Van Johnson, 49, last Tuesday, December 1. Police didn't get a tip about the stabbing until Wednesday, at which point they obtained entry into McCelleary's residence and discovered the victim still alive.

Johnson, of the 1000 block of Renshaw in north county, was rushed to a hospital where he died of multiple stab wounds.

McCelleary is being held on a $500,000 cash only.
 

Michael Pulliam

​Police arrested Michael A.J. Pulliam, 23, last week for the killing of Lamar Mills, 31.

Pulliam, of the 5200 block of South Broadway, is accused of shooting Mills on Dec. 1 near Bellerive Park in south St. Louis. When police arrived to park for a "shots fired" call, they located evidence to indicate a shooting had occurred but located no victim.

Mills was found several hours later deceased inside of a vehicle in Berkeley. Investigators determined that Mills had been the victim in the shooting in the 100 block of Bellerive. The investigation revealed that Mills had been with two additional persons at the time of the shooting but they had not been injured during the confrontation with the suspect. The investigaton also revealed that the incident was drug-related.

Pulliam remains in custody on a $500,000 cash-only bond and is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action.
 

Two car chases in St. Louis led to crashes and the death of at least one innocent motorist in the past 24 hours.

The first accident happened just before 7 p.m. Thursday. That's when St. Louis police say that the Upland Parks police department pursued a Dodge Stratus into city limits. The chase proceeded down the 1400 block of Goodfellow where the Stratus slammed into a Pontiac Grand Am.


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The suspects in the Stratus -- described as black teens -- fled the scene on foot and remain at large. Unfortunately, the five passengers in the Pontiac Grand Am were not as lucky. The crash killed driver Lashanna Snipes, 34, of the 2000 block of Mullanphy. Another 35-year-old female passenger is listed in critical but stable condition. Two children -- ages 12 and 13 -- also sustained injuries.

The other police chase happened around 6 a.m. this morning. That's when St. Louis police gave chase to a stolen car that had been involved in several attempted robberies earlier. 

WWMD?

​We're not lawyers here at Daily RFT, but we occasionally like to play attorneys on the Internetz. (In this imaginary world we always think of ourselves as Matlock. Please humor us in this request.)

So, today we're scratching our silky white coif and nervously fraying the lapels of our seersucker suit as we contemplate the following:

Why are the attorneys for accused murderer Chris Coleman subpoenaing local media outlets for their new stories and television coverage of their client?

As the Belleville News-Democrat reports, the lawyers are most likely trying to convince the judge that a change of venue is needed.

But is it really necessary to subpoena news agencies for such information?