ST. LOUIS — A second 18-year-old was charged Tuesday in connection with the deadly shooting of a man who tried to interrupt a car break-in in Clayton last month. Police said he has not been arrested and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Darrion A. Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the Nov. 13 shooting death of Joshua Harris. A second teen, 18-year-old Trenell Johnson, was also charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action on Nov. 17.
The Clayton Police Department said anyone with information on Darrion Johnson's whereabouts is asked to call the department at 314-290-8425.
Clayton Police said they found Harris, 41, fatally shot just before 5:30 a.m. Monday outside an apartment building in the 7500 block of Wydown Boulevard within the Moorlands neighborhood.
According to the Major Case Squad, Darrion and Trenell Johnson, and others, were seen on surveillance video breaking into several cars Monday morning. Both Johnsons were seen in a white Chrysler 300 throughout the night, and Trenell Johnson was seen blocks from Harris' home with a gun in his hand about 10 to 15 minutes before the shooting.
Police said Darrion Johnson was seen driving the Chrysler to his job on multiple occasions, including the night before the deadly shooting.
Police said Harris tried to confront suspects who were breaking into his wife's car. A video then showed several shots being fired from a Chrysler 300, striking Harris.
Trenell Johnson was seen on video getting out of the Chrysler in the same clothing video surveillance showed at the time of the shooting, according to police. He was identified by several people as the man seen on the video.
"Do you think they thought were going to kill someone?" 5 On Your Side's Brent Solomon asked Saint Louis University Criminal Justice Professor Kenya Brumfield-Young.
"No.... When people are together there are mechanisms of what they feel to be self-protection, even if they're not doing something right. It becomes 'them or me,'" she replied.
She's worked with incarcerated youth.
"I've heard everything from 'I did this to help my parents or help my family' or 'I got siblings at home' or there are absent parents or 'I connected with my friends and they made me feel wanted.'"
She says jail time isn't always a deterrent for young people.
"Those who are new fear the experience. I think it's like anything else. Once they understand, there's no longer fear of the unknown.... For some of these young people, they're getting a roof over their head. They're getting fed. That may be a situation that's not occurring at home.... There's structure."
She said it's time for leaders across the St. Louis metro to unite and intervene.
"We're a region. We're not just a pocket so those occurrences are expanding.... With good programming, young people tend to recidivate less," Brumfield-Young added.
Sentencing for second-degree murder, which is a Class A felony, could range from 10 years to life in prison.