ST. LOUIS COUNTY – A second suspect has been charged in the April 2026 fatal shooting of a Steak ’n Shake employee in north St. Louis County, prosecutors said Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on May 27, 2026, charged Torriono Baker, 22, of the 2300 block of Kingsford Drive in St. Louis, with first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, first-degree assault, and unlawful use of a weapon in the April 8 shooting at the Steak ’n Shake at 11035 Bellefontaine Road. Baker is being held on a $600,000 cash-only bond, with no 10% bond allowed.
According to a probable cause statement, Chauncia Lashell Meekins, 32, was working at the restaurant when co-defendant Jada Bell drove a white SUV to the drive-thru window and argued with Meekins about a food order. Meekins’ family said the argument was over onion rings.
Prosecutors said Baker was inside the SUV and, “acting with Jada Bell, fired several rounds from a handgun at C.M.”
Meekins was shot multiple times and died from her injuries, according to authorities. A second victim, who was also working inside the restaurant, was shot in the hand. Police previously said the second victim was an adult male who was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened at about 11:35 p.m. on April 8, 2026, when officers from the St. Louis County Police North County Precinct responded to a shooting call in the 11000 block of Bellefontaine Road. Officers found two victims inside the business with gunshot injuries, and an adult female victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Investigators said portions of the shooting were captured on Steak ’n Shake surveillance footage. The probable cause statement says records show Baker purchased a .45-caliber Glock handgun in February 2026. Investigators later found a .45-caliber Glock handgun with the same serial number near the home of a relative of Bell, according to the statement. Prosecutors said the caliber and headstamps on ammunition found inside that gun matched the headstamps and caliber of the .45-caliber shell casings recovered at the shooting scene.
Bell was charged last month with first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, assault, and unlawful use of a weapon.
The St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons is investigating.
The prosecuting attorney’s office said the charges are accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
