Replies

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/off-duty-st-louis-officer-fatally-shoots-teen-who-fired/article_2d5a8c2a-97db-5cec-a477-1130d7d26f7e.html

A police source told the Post-Dispatch that the gun Myers fired at the officer was a 9 mm Smith & Wesson, which was bought at Cabela’s in Hazelwood on May 5. It was then reported stolen Sept. 26 by a man from The Ville neighborhood. The owner told police that one of his sons stole the gun. When questioned, the son claimed the gun was stolen from him during a robbery that he did not report to police. It’s unclear how Myers acquired the weapon, police said.

Berhe Beyent, the manager of Shaw Market near the shooting scene, said Myers came in the store and bought a turkey sandwich and a soda about 10 minutes before the shooting. Beyent said he knew the young man and didn’t believe he had a gun at the time, and said it didn’t fit his personality.

Myers was wearing an ankle bracelet at the time he died — a court-ordered monitoring system as a condition of bail in a gun case, according to his lawyer and police.

(snip)

Dotson, who came to the shooting scene and gave an update to reporters after midnight, said the uniformed officer had been in a car when he saw three males near Shaw Boulevard and Klemm Street at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. One of the males started to run away but stopped. The officer did a U-turn and then all three ran, in the 4100 block of Shaw Boulevard. The officer drove through streets following them, and then he got out and chased them on foot.

The officer followed one of the young men, identified as Myers, into a gangway. He was running and holding his waistband in a way that caused the officer to suspect he had a gun, according to police.

Myers turned and approached the officer in “an aggressive manner,” police said, and the officer told Myers to surrender. Myers continued to come at the officer and the two struggled. A sweatshirt the man was wearing came off during the struggle, police said.

Myers then ran from the officer, up an incline in the 4100 block of Shaw, and the officer saw what he believed to be a gun. He did not immediately fire because he wanted to be sure it was a firearm, police said. Myers turned and pointed a gun toward the officer and fired at least three shots, police said.

As Myers fired, the officer returned fire, police said. Myers continued to pull the trigger, but his gun apparently jammed.

It’s unclear how many times Myers was hit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities found the Ruger, which appeared to have jammed after firing at least three rounds, at the scene, police said. Three bullets that had been fired toward the officer were also recovered. One bullet was found in a vehicle behind the officer. Trajectories showed they had been fired downhill at the officer, police said.

Police said the Ruger had been reported stolen on Sept. 26.

Dotson said he is unaware of any video that captured Wednesday night’s shooting. He said the department’s Force Investigative Unit is investigating.

Police did not identify the officer but said he is 32 and a six-year veteran of the police department.

Dotson said the teen who died “was no stranger to law enforcement” but didn’t elaborate.

Court records show that Myers was scheduled to stand trial in November for unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. This summer, Myers was a passenger in a car involved in a high-speed car chase in St. Louis, officials say. The car crashed just after midnight on June 27 in the 1100 block of South Grand Boulevard. Myers got out of the car, and a police officer yelled at him to stop. Instead, Myers ran off and tossed a gun into a sewage drain. Police caught him nearby and recovered the gun, a loaded .380-caliber pistol.

Myers was jailed for a few days. Then, in early July, Myers was released on bail after posting $1,000 cash bond. His bail originally was set at $30,000 by Judge Rex Burlison but was dropped to $10,000 after Judge Theresa Counts Burke agreed with a defense motion that it was excessive. Burke allowed Myers to post 10 percent of that in cash. A second judge upheld that bond amount later.

On July 8, as a condition of bail, Myers was activated on electronic monitoring for house arrest, court records say. He could leave his home in the 4200 block of Castleman Avenue for work, school, court appearances, meetings with attorneys and meetings with the private monitoring firm.

That firm, Eastern Missouri Alternative Sentencing Services, Inc., was supposed to monitor Myers’ movements and contact the court if he violated the rules. Nothing in the court file indicates any violations. Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office, said prosecutors weren’t told of any violations.