Local News

Neptali Mejia Pleads Guilty to Killing Family Friend on Cherokee Street

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

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An emotional scene played out in a St. Louis courtroom this morning as a 20-year-old pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and heard directly from the family of the teenager whose death he caused.

Jonathan Cruz was 19 when he was gunned down in a car outside of a barber shop on Cherokee Street in the City of St. Louis in July 2021. In court this morning, his family stood on one side of the courtroom in front of Circuit Court Judge Katherine Fowler. To the other side was Neptali Mejia, who was 18 when prosecutors say he was a part of the group that killed Cruz. Prosecutors negotiated an eight-year sentence in exchange for Mejia’s plea.

But Cruz’s family members weren’t happy with the deal.

“Eight years won’t bring my son back,” said Cruz’s father, Leo Rubio, who was the first of the family to speak. He said the sentence should be longer.

“He says he’s too young,” Rubio said, referring to Mejia. “My son was too young, too.”

Judge Fowler stressed that she wanted the Cruz family to take as much healing as they could from their time addressing Mejia and the court. The judge has in the past employed restorative justice practices in her courtroom, in which the person guilty of a crime often avoids prison time and instead works with a victim or the victim’s family to in some way make amends. Fowler signaled she was open to that in this case. However, given the Cruz family’s desire for Mejia to serve time, it is unlikely to occur.

Members of the Cruz and Mejia families were once close, often celebrating birthdays together, said Cruz’s mother, Maria, speaking through an interpreter. She said that circumstance compounded the tragedy, explaining that Neptali knew full well the pain Jonathan’s death would cause the family.

“I was sick to my stomach when I found out that my brother was murdered,” said Jonathan’s brother, Ivan. “I was even more sick when I found out Neptali had something to do with it.”

Neptali had previously been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon — charges serious enough that an eight-year deal would have been unlikely.

But the murder charge was amended down and the other two were dropped, a fact that may be related to the fact that Cruz’s slaying was assigned to detective Tommy Mayer in the waning days of his career. Since retiring and moving to Fredericktown, Mayer has refused to testify about cases he investigated, claiming he’s in ill health, which has at times complicated the work of prosecutors. In this case, however, Mayer was successfully served a summons, which would have required him to show up to testify. Whether he’d do so in a compelling way, however, is not clear, nor is whether his involvement — or lack thereof — had on the outcome.

The RFT and ProPublica went in-depth on Mayer’s refusal to testify in an investigation published last year.

Cruz’s mother, Maria, said that when she and her husband split up, her son lived with his dad but still came to visit her every day. She added that she can still recall the specific details of the day her son died. She remembers the last time she called him, at 7:45 p.m., but by that time he was already dead.

Along with other family members including his brother Ivan, Jonathan ran a food truck business. Ivan explained that the truck had a lot of contracts in the coming days and that right before he died Jonathan said he wanted to look good on the job, which was why he went to get a haircut on Cherokee Street.

It’s been previously reported that the killing of Cruz was in retaliation for the murder of another man who was found dead in a car near Cherokee Street in August 2020.

According to a police probable cause statement issued at the time of Mejia’s arrest, the then-18-year-old Mejia admitted to police that he was the driver of a car carrying the people who shot at and killed Cruz while he was in his vehicle.

Last July, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Mejia’s bond, writing that they’d been made aware of a video posted on social media in which Mejia rapped about having killed Cruz.

Ivan Cruz said in court that he often went by the restaurant where Mejia worked and that he always gave him a tip. But shortly before his brother was killed, Ivan went to the restaurant but Neptali wasn’t there, which was unusual.

Speaking directly to Mejia, Ivan said: “You weren’t there because you were out with your friends getting ready to murder my brother.”

It is unclear when Mejia will begin serving his sentence. A sentencing assessment report still needs to be completed. The next hearing in the case is June 11.

After the Cruz family spoke, Fowler asked Mejia if he had anything to say.

He said he didn’t.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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