ST. LOUIS — A man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a man in 2022 after an argument on a MetroLink train.
Quinton Howard, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and five years for armed criminal action, with both sentences to run consecutively. He was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case.
According to prosecutors, Manu Barge, 32, boarded a train at the Emerson Park station in East St. Louis on April 17, 2022. Howard later boarded at the Clayton stop.
Witnesses said the two got into a verbal argument, and both men stood up as Howard was exiting at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere stop. Howard then shot Barge in the head and ran.
The gun was never found, prosecutors said.
“It is tragic that a brief exchange of words between two strangers on a train would end in one’s death,” St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a statement. “The presence of a gun tipped the balance.”
