William Warden, 29, of Imperial has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting he hit and killed a St. Louis bar owner. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office reduced the murder charge from first-degree murder to second-degree murder and dropped two counts of armed criminal action in exchange for his guilty plea, court documents show.
Warden on Feb. 6 was sentenced to 15 years in prison for second-degree murder, 15 years for first-degree assault and seven years for second-degree assault. The three sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, for a total of 15 years, according to court records.
He pleaded guilty to the three charges on Jan. 24, court documents said.
St. Louis assistant circuit attorney Christopher Faerber prosecuted the case.
In 2021, Warden was charged with murder in connection with the death of Bomber O’Brien Bar owner James Wors of Oakville. Wors was 54, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police reported.
The case’s probable-cause statement said just after midnight on Nov. 12 police were called to the bar at 4621 Beck Ave. after two people were hit by a car. Warden was allegedly involved in a fight inside the bar before the accident, and he allegedly punched a 38-year-old man, breaking the man’s orbital bone.
After the fight, Warden got into a Chevrolet Cruze and then drove the car onto the sidewalk in front of the bar, hitting Wors and a 37-year-old man. Wors fell onto the car’s hood and hit the windshield, according to the report.
Warden drove the Cruze about 50 feet with Wors on the hood before Wors fell off. Then, Warden drove over Wors, with both the Cruze’s front and back tires running over him, according to the report.
The Cruze was abandoned in the 4800 block of Oleatha Avenue, about a mile from the bar, the report said.
Wors died at the hospital, and the other man suffered a broken ankle and ribs, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
The 38-year-old man was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated and released, authorities reported.