FERGUSON, Mo. — Wendell Phillips Berwick is a local artist who used his artwork to spread peace and unity around St. Louis through the years by organizing events such as Paint for Peace in 2020 and using his signature "Merferd" character to spread love.
He has a different message of peace and hope for the young men he says attempted to rob him just a few months ago.
The man behind the Merferd character has gained a reputation for trying to beautify neighborhoods, but 5 On Your Side spoke with Berwick about Dec. 26, 2023, the day he found himself on the other side of a gun.
Berwick recalls walking his daughter's dog in Jeske Park near Robert Avenue and Nancy Place at night when he said he was approached by four young men who he said came from the shadows.
Berwick admittedly was not paying attention and was looking down at his phone in the moments before the incident.
"It was surreal to me because they'd pulled two guns," Berwick said. "The main one guy said put your phone down on the ground. But I have thousands of files on that phone … and I thought I can't do that."
Instead, Berwick turned to his faith.
"I said, 'In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.'"
Berwick said that one of the men "mumbled the name of Jesus" and all four of them walked away.
"After it happened, I was just thanking God," Berwick said. He watched the men walk away and then called the police.
According to the Ferguson Police Department, this is not a park that sees crime often.
Police have been unable to find the four men Berwick encountered that night.
The four men could face charges of armed criminal action and first-degree robbery, according to the police.
Now Berwick said he would love to meet these men and help them spread brotherly love.
"I would love to have them help me create some Merferds," he said. "If I were to identify them, I would ask the judge to let me take them under my wing to create and paint. I don't want to see them locked up."
Berwick became a prominent figure in Ferguson in 2014 with the help of Merferd.
Berwick has put a new Merferd in a Jeske Park tree near the attempted robbery holding an "appeal to heaven" flag to represent the reliance on a higher power for justice.
"Be aware of your surroundings, don't be on your phone, and walk like you're going someplace," he said.
