ST. LOUIS — A man was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to shooting and killing his cousin in 2018 in St. Louis' Carondelet neighborhood.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office said Romello Thomas, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing of Kourtney Steed. He had originally been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use and possession of a firearm, theft of a firearm and resisting arrest.
Prosecutors said that on Dec. 23, 2018, Thomas knocked on his cousin's door on the 5900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Steed, 27, answered the door, and Thomas shot him several times and ran away.
St. Louis police said an off-duty officer attending a child's birthday party nearby overheard the shooting, chased Thomas down on foot and arrested him.
Steed was one of six people killed during a violent 2018 Christmas weekend in St. Louis.
