ST. LOUIS — A 19-year-old man from St. Louis County admitted taking part in the robbery and fatal shooting of a taxi driver last April.
In a plea agreement, Coron Dees pleaded guilty to a robbery charge in connection to the fatal shooting of Dewight Price, a driver for St. Louis County Cab, on April 24, 2022. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Dees and three other teens were at a party in downtown St. Louis before calling a cab at about 5:30 that morning at the Shell gas station on North Tucker Boulevard, according to the plea agreement. The group used a fake name and planned to run away without paying when they were dropped off at their destination. However, when they learned they would have to prepay for their ride, they came up with a plan to pay and then rob the driver.
Thinking there would be no witnesses on a Sunday morning, the group routed the driver to Hazelwood Central High School in Florissant. When they arrived, Dees and another teen pulled out guns and demanded Price's money, the plea agreement said. Price handed over the cash, grabbed a gun he kept in his door and began getting out of the cab.
That's when a teen in the backseat opened his door and knocked the cab driver to the ground, and another teen shot him in the torso. Price died before police got to the scene.
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Three of the four teens were arrested that afternoon and their guns were recovered, the plea agreement said. Three other teens, who all have pleaded not guilty, face a robbery charge and a charge of aiding and abetting the commission of a murder, with one of the teens also facing a charge of being an accessory after the fact.
Dees is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18.
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