CLAYTON, Mo. — Prosecutors on Thursday charged an 18-year-old man with the murder of another man who was fatally shot after interrupting a car break-in in Clayton earlier in the week.
Trenell Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Joshua Harris. Johnson was arrested Thursday night and remained in custody.
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. It was the second murder in Clayton since 2006.
Johnson was out on a reduced bond, which St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell's office objected to, in the summer related to car theft charges. Court records show The Bail Project posted his $3,000 bail in May. He's also facing a felony charge for resisting arrest in that case.
Clayton police asked the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to lead the investigation following the early Monday morning murder.
The department released the victim's identity Tuesday evening although the St. Louis County Medical Examiner released his identity to 5 On Your Side earlier this week.
According to the Major Case Squad, Johnson and others were seen on surveillance video breaking into several cars Monday morning. Johnson was seen in a white Chrysler 300 throughout the night and was seen blocks from Harris' home with a gun in his hand about 10-15 minutes before the shooting.
Police said Harris saw the group trying to break into his wife's car on Wydown. He got his gun and tried to confront the suspects. A video then showed several shots being fired from a Chrysler 300, striking Harris.
Johnson was seen on video getting out of the Chrysler in the same clothing video surveillance showed at the time of the shooting. He was identified by several people as the man seen on the video.
"We were talking about how we literally never felt unsafe in Clayton," Zoe Schulman said after hearing the news.
"I feel like to kill someone, you'd need a really big reason to do so right?
If you're just trying to protect yourself I feel that doesn't really warrant a death. That's pretty shocking honestly," Justin Lofaso added.
Mayor Michelle Harris wants her community to learn from the tragedy.
"This event is just what we've always been afraid of...What I really want people to hear from this is if you see something like this going on, do not come out of your house, do not confront the people, call the police and then stay out of the way," she said.
Surveillance footage obtained by 5 On Your Side Wednesday showed a gunman walking the streets of Clayton just moments before a deadly shooting Monday morning.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business on Wydown Boulevard captured the suspect in the area. The suspect is seen walking down an alley with a gun at 5:10 a.m., and then, the gunman runs away at 5:11 a.m. The timecode on the video was delayed by 10 minutes.
Harris was found shot nearby minutes later.