A St. Louis man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a street-racing accident that killed a Dittmer man and injured an Arnold man last year, and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office dropped charges against another man initially believed to be involved in the accident, according to court records.
Deondre Robinson, 20, on Monday, June 2, pleaded guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, a class C felony; second-degree assault, a class D felony; and operating a vehicle without a license, a class D misdemeanor, court documents show.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, June 12. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is recommending a sentence of 10 years, according to the guilty plea.
Patrick Aten of St. Louis was charged with the same felonies and misdemeanors following the accident the killed Christopher Johnson, 34, of Dittmer and injured Carl Seese, who was then 58, of Arnold on April 5, 2024. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against Aten on April 24, 2024. Aten and Robinson were both 18 at the time of the accident.
“After further investigation, the facts did not support a criminal prosecution," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesman Chris King said of the charges against Aten being dropped.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Robinson was driving at a high speed in the 9900 block of South Broadway when he lost control of the car he was driving. Johnson and Seese were working on an awning at a business along that street.
Johnson was dragged under the car and pronounced dead at the scene, the report said.
Johnson and Seese were among six men working for Glenlo Awning and Window Co. in Imperial to replace the awning outside Rediscover Antiques and Collectibles, 9912 S. Broadway, when they were hit.
St. Louis County Police investigated the accident. St. Louis County assistant prosecuting attorney Jason Glaser prosecuted the case.
“It’s a well-prepared trial team that gets a defendant to plead guilty as charged on the day a case is set for trial,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith said in a statement on June 2. “I thank our trial team and the police for making St. Louis County safer by getting this reckless and deadly driver off the street.”