Three St. Louis men have been charged with murder in connection with a burglary at a Fenton mobile home that left one of their alleged accomplices dead early Wednesday morning (Oct. 11), authorities report.
Courtney A. “Demo” Brown, 36, of St. Louis, the alleged shooter, was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree burglary and armed criminal action, all felonies. He is in custody at the Jefferson County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
Two alleged accomplices were charged with second-degree murder and second-degree burglary – Raymond C. Seay, 39, of St. Louis and Paris-John Devine, 24, of St. Louis. Both are in custody at the Jefferson County Jail, each one on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
The victim, Ramone Thomas, 26, of St. Louis allegedly was one of four men and two women involved in the burglary at the mobile home in the 700 block of Chancellor Lane, according to a written statement from the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, which was called in to assist the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.
At 4:17 a.m. Wednesday, Jefferson County deputies and emergency services personnel were called to the mobile home because of an “unresponsive” man. When they arrived, they found Thomas “lying on the ground at the front of the home with an apparent gunshot wound to his torso,” according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
Thomas was showing no signs of life and was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Major Case Squad reported.
Authorities said Thomas was among the four male suspects who were ransacking the mobile home when the homeowner returned.
The two female suspects allegedly were waiting outside in a vehicle, authorities reported.
Jefferson County Capt. Gary Higginbotham, who is deputy commander for the Major Case Squad in the case, said police believe “there was a connection between the burglars and the homeowner.”
“We believe it was a targeted home and there were items of interest or value to the suspect that they may have felt they have a right to,” Higginbotham said.
While in the home, Thomas allegedly passed a semi-automatic handgun to Brown, the report said.
When the homeowner returned, he confronted the suspects, and they fled, apparently intending to return to the vehicle, but the women had already left in it, the statement said.
Brown told investigators that as he and the other men ran away, he allegedly pointed the gun at the mobile home “to scare” the homeowner. At first Brown said he did not think he had fired the gun, but eventually “conceded that he had inadvertently shot Thomas,” according to the statement.
“It was an accident,” Brown told police.
The Major Case Squad brought in a K-9 unit to help locate the suspects. One of the male suspects was found about 9 a.m. on Ron Drive. Another was found just after 10 a.m. in the 5100 block of Saline Road and was transported to a local hospital to be treated for dog bites. The third male suspect was found about 2:40 p.m. near Walnut Ridge in the Hermitage Hills subdivision, Higginbotham said.
He said the public also provided information that was instrumental in finding the suspects.
“Citizen reports helped us throughout the search,” he said.
Police took one of the women into custody during the early evening hours on Wednesday. The other was still at large this afternoon (Oct. 12), according to the report.
Higginbotham said typically the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis is called in to help with murder cases.
He said the Major Case Squad also was called in because the case crossed jurisdictional lines. Six Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies are on the Major Case Squad, and between 20 and 25 officers on the case squad officers worked on this case.
“We needed the manpower,” Higginbotham said. “They have a lot of good training and so do we, but this gives us more of it to work with.”
Second-degree murder is a class A felony punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison. Second-degree burglary is a class D felony that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, and armed criminal action is an unclassified felony punishable by a minimum of three years in prison.