ST. LOUIS — A man will spend nearly two decades in prison after pleading guilty to firing shots that struck and killed a woman standing at a gas station across the street.
Cameron Delap, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter, shooting at a motor vehicle and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the shooting death of 35-year-old Shree Hemphill on June 19, 2022.
According to a press release from Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore's office, the incident started on the parking lot of Hollywood Beauty on North Kingshighway Boulevard. Police said two groups of young women who had been at a party at the Wohl Recreation Center ended up on the parking lot and got into a fight. A witness of the fight called a member of her family, who arrived to the scene in a Pontiac with Delap in the front passenger seat.
When they arrived, Delap got out of the car and fired multiple shots at a Ford Escape as it was driving away.
Hemphill was across the street with her brother and a group of family and friends at a gas station when the shots were fired. Police said she was struck in the chest and died at the scene of the shooting.
A police officer was near the scene and arrived in time to see Delap firing shots. The officer shot at the Pontiac as Delap was getting back into the car, which then fled the scene.
The press release said the shooting was caught on security video and the responding officer identified Delap in an in-person lineup.
“Instead of trying to defuse a volatile situation, Delap threw gasoline on the fire by bringing a gun,” Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in the press release. “A little common sense and adult intervention could have prevented an innocent bystander’s senseless and untimely death.”
Delap entered a guilty plea in the case and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
