St. Louis
May 8, 2009)
A St. Louis jury acquitted a man of murder Thursday in a shooting in 2006 that killed Derrick Williams, 32, of St. Louis. Deandreis L. Dowell, 23, of the 5000 block of Idaho Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, which was captured on several surveillance video cameras at a gas station in the 5000 block of Goodfellow Boulevard.
The victim's brother, Bryan Williams, who happened to stop at the gas station just before the shooting, identified Dowell as one of the shooters. Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum argued that Dowell tried to play peacemaker when an argument broke out between the victim and a group of women. Rosenum said Bryan Williams' eyewitness testimony was wrong.
Lyndon Jones, 24, of St. Louis, was convicted in October of second-degree murder in the case.
