ST. LOUIS — Sharniece Stokes said her sister, 39-year-old Lekeshia Stokes, had a promising future.
"She was the fun one, the outgoing one," Sharniece Stokes said.
Lekeshia was a mother of four, including a 4-year-old and a 20-year-old son in college.
Lekeshia also worked as a patient care technician at Christian Northeast Hospital and was engaged.
"My sister was enrolled to start LPN(Licensed Practical Nurse) school this March,” Sharniece said. “She had a lot of certificates under her belt. She loved the nursing field."
But, now the passionate health care worker is gone.
Her sister said on the night of Feb. 11, Lekeshia drove her best friend home to the Baden neighborhood.
According to a probable cause statement, moments later Stokes headed down the 8500 block of Church Road, sideswiped a parked Jaguar and then crashed into another car.
Police said Thomas Shelton and Douglas Shelton-Herron and another man got out of the Jaguar and fired several shots into Stokes' car, killing her.
"I don't know what to think,” Sharniece said. “I just know I'm very, very angry because why did you do it?"
Police said Lekeshia Stokes did not know the suspects. Both men are charged with first-degree murder.
According to police statistics, between January of 2021 and this January, crimes against people are up 21% in the Baden neighborhood."
Concerned about her own safety, one longtime neighbor asked not to be identified but said she'd like to see more crime-fighting efforts in the Baden neighborhood.
"Definitely need an ongoing presence, community-based," the neighbor said.