ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison months after he was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder for shooting and killing another man inside a north St. Louis County apartment in May of 2020.
Damion Thomas, a 26-year-old St. Louis County man, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday. He was convicted on April 28 in the third verdict delivered by a St. Louis County in-person jury after in-person trials resumed on April 19.
Police said Thomas went to the apartment of his child's mother on May 18, 2020. After the woman allowed Thomas inside, he found a man, identified as 27-year-old Tyree Matthews, sleeping in the woman's bed and became "enraged," according to a press release from St. Louis County police.
Thomas shot Matthews, who was pleading with Thomas to allow him to leave, police said. Thomas fired a second shot, killing Matthews. The autopsy revealed two gunshot wounds, both fatal.
During the trial, Thomas admitted to shooting and killing Matthews but said Matthews was pointing a gun at him at the time. He said he then took Matthews' gun from the crime scene and gave it away.
The medical examiner's time on the stand undermined what Thomas said, testifying that the wound pattern was consistent with someone standing above the victim and shooting down at him.
Detectives from the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons conducted the investigation.
