GRANITE CITY – Five have been charged after an incident around 3 a.m. on July 5 where shots were fired at the intersection of 23rd and Benton Street in Granite City.
Granite City Police said upon arrival of the responding officers, the officers found a vehicle that had been in involved in a traffic crash. The officers then noticed that the vehicle was not occupied and that the vehicle had numerous bullet holes in it.
“At this time the officers on-scene believed that someone could either be seriously injured somewhere in the area or possibly even deceased,” Granite City Police detective Lt. Nicholas P. Novacich said. “The Granite City Police Department’s Detective Division was then summoned to the scene to assist with the investigation. Upon the arrival of detectives, the scene was turned over to them and an investigation was conducted.
“The vehicle owner was identified and located and notified investigators that this incident originally started in North St. Louis, MO., and ended in Granite City. The victim stated that they had been in St. Louis, MO., off of Interstate 70 at a gas station. The victim stated that when they began to head home to Granite City, they noticed that they were being followed by several vehicles. The victim stated that they accelerated to attempt to flee from the vehicles and they were chased all the way into Granite City.
“When they entered Granite City, the victim continued to try to escape but could not getaway. The victim then lost control of their vehicle and was involved in a traffic crash. The victim stated that they saw several vehicles stop near the crash at which time the victim began fleeing on foot. At this time the victim and the vehicle they had been driving were shot at in what could only be described as a barrage of gunfire. The vehicle was hit numerous times by the gunfire and the victim escaped the scene without injury.”
Granite City Police Department detectives began following up on leads which took them back to St. Louis MO. The Granite City Police Department Detectives then worked alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (STLMPD) to identify and locate the suspects responsible for this incident. The following individuals have been identified and charged by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office (of Illinois) in this case:
Steven L. Carson
32 Years of age
2500 block of E. Dodier St.
St. Louis, Mo
Janautica F. Jackson
23 Years of age
5500 block of Selber
St. Louis, Mo
Michael C. Smith
28 Years of age
12000 block of Continental Dr.
St. Louis, Mo
Anthony L. Stewart Jr.
21 Years of age
4000 block of Delor
St. Louis, Mo
Donnell L. Robinson
35 Years of age
1700 block of Hudson Rd.
St. Louis, Mo
The above listed suspects were all charged with the same crimes and are as follows:
CT 1 Attempted Murder
CT 2 Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm
CT 3 Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm
CT 4 Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm
The facts and charges of this case were then presented to the Honorable Judge Heflin. Judge Heflin then assigned a bond amount of $1,500,000.00 to all above-listed suspects. All of the above-listed suspects have been located and are currently in custody awaiting extradition to Illinois.
“The Granite City Police Department would like to express our gratitude to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Marshal’s Service (specifically the Metropolitan Fugitive Task Force), as well at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for all the assistance given to us in this investigation,” Detective Novacich said. “The Granite City Police Department has no further comment regarding this matter.”
