Man Involved in Drug Conspiracy that Killed Three in St. Louis Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Friday sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for his role in drug robberies that cost the lives of three people in St. Louis in 2021.
Demorion Little conspired with his co-defendant, Antaveon Bernard Le'Vell Kent, to steal and sell marijuana. The pair used Facebook to pick their targets and then arranged to buy marijuana from their victims.
On Feb. 25, 2021, Little contacted Rocoby Rodgers via Facebook Messenger and asked about purchasing quarter-pound packages of marijuana. They arranged to meet in the 2300 block of Blair Avenue in St. Louis. Police found Rodgers dead in his car. That night, Little advertised on Facebook that he had marijuana for sale.
Kent and Little arranged to meet Kortlin Williams and Johnnie Jones on March 16, 2021, in the 1100 block of Montgomery Street. When the victims arrived, Kent and Little fired into their vehicle, killing Williams and Jones and injuring a third occupant.
Judge Pitlyk called Little’s conduct, ending the lives of three young men and injuring a fourth, “beyond heinous.”
“This case seems unbelievable – murder for marijuana,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "Unfortunately, DEA has learned that the type of drug or the quantity doesn’t matter when it comes to drug dealers’ motivations. They will use any means as a way to make money or protect their illegal drug operations, including threatening or using violence.”
Little, 24, pleaded guilty in August to one felony marijuana distribution conspiracy count and one count of aiding and abetting the discharge of one or more firearms in furtherance of the marijuana trafficking conspiracy.
Kent pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, attempting to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and two charges of possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime that resulted in the fatal shootings of Williams and Jones.
In February, Judge Pitlyk sentenced Kent, 23, of Florissant, to 26 years in prison.
DEA investigated this case with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
