ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Two more men were charged in connection with the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old from Jennings.
Christopher Williams, 28, and Jalen Simms, 26, were charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the October 2019 shooting death of 17-year-old Caleb Smith. Another man, Deryon Thomas, was charged with the same crimes days after the shooting.
According to the probable cause statement, Simms, Thomas and Williams were chasing Smith on Oct. 23. Smith ran into an alley and Thomas and Willams started firing multiple shots. Thomas took a knee and pointed something he had in this hand toward the direction of Smith. Police said they did not know what the object was in Thomas’ hand.
Thomas was arrested in the area of the shooting and charged a short time later. Police said a witness to the shooting identified him as one of the shooters. Police said they found a Facebook Live video showing him in a stolen car minutes before the shooting wearing the same clothing the witness identified.
Police eventually connected Simms and Williams to the stolen car, and phone records placed them in the area of the shooting at the time of the incident. One of the witnesses also identified Williams out of a photo lineup.
When police arrested Simms at his apartment, they said they found a license plate matching the one on the stolen car. They also said his phone had been connected to the infotainment system of the stolen car.
All three men are being held on $1,000,000, cash-only bonds.
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