WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — A man shot and killed a person allegedly trying to steal the man's car in Webster Groves Saturday morning.
Police say they responded at 12:39 a.m. to HotShots Sports Bar & Grill at 1239 S. Laclede Station Road for a possible theft of a car that was happening at the time.
A person was dead in the parking lot with a gunshot wound when officers arrived. A man, who police said was the victim of the attempted car theft, was at the scene with a firearm.
The man told them that two people wearing ski masks confronted him near his parked vehicle, police said. The man fired the gun at the two people. One person was struck and the other ran away. The second person was shortly found in Affton.
The person who was shot and killed has been identified as 19-year-old Javion Bibby. Police believe his accomplice is 18-year-old Ronnie Jewett, who has been charged with second degree murder, armed criminal action, attempted stealing of a motor vehicle and tampering with physical evidence. His bond was set at $1 million.
Police have not responded to 5 On Your Side's request for information on whether Jewett is being charged for murder due to the other suspect being shot and killed by the vehicle's owner, or whether Jewett was armed at the time of the attempted theft.
Agnes Mannarelli was one of the many who was shocked when she heard about the incident.
"I cannot believe that it happened in a strip mall in Webster Groves," she said.
While it rarely happens in this suburb of St. Louis, Mannarelli said, crime is happening across the county.
"It can happen anywhere, you know, some people are afraid of going downtown," she said.
Mannarelli said in this day and age she feels defenseless because she doesn't want to carry a weapon.
"I don't feel like learning how to use a gun at this stage in my life or in any point in my life was I interested in doing that," she said.
That's why Mannarelli takes safety precautions of her own because she never knows where or when the next crime will be.
"I like to try to be in by no later than 10 p.m. and usually I'm in earlier than that, but I just don't like to stay out late, really in any neighborhood, even in my own," she said.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Webster Groves Criminal Investigations Unit at 314-963-5419 or 314-963-5407.