Charges dropped after killing at mall deemed self-defense

Published January 31, 2022 2:23 PM

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a teenager who was accused of fatally shooting a man at the Galleria shopping mall in 2020. Jaron Lemmitt had been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of 21-year-old Jaquan Steed. Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement on Monday that surveillance video not available at the time charges were filed provided “unmistakable evidence” that Lemmitt acted in self-defense. The shooting happened July 22, 2020, sending mall patrons scattering. Bell says surveillance video showed that Steed initiated the fatal confrontation by rushing down an escalator and assaulting Lemmitt.

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