In the winter of 2022, the life of 19-year-old Jakobe Bass was violently cut short in a parking lot in Maplewood, a suburb of Saint Louis, Missouri. On the afternoon of February 8th, police responded to reports of shots fired in the 2600 block of Bellevue Avenue. There, they discovered Bass suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The shocking event marked the first gun-related homicide in the city of Maplewood in over a decade.
The ensuing investigation, a collaborative effort between the Maplewood Police Department and the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, revealed a brutal and calculated attack. Investigators determined that Bass had been shot more than 30 times. The assailants, after riddling his body with bullets, proceeded to drive over him with their vehicle. Surveillance footage captured a maroon Toyota Sienna minivan connected to the homicide, which was later located and recovered by law enforcement. The investigation led to the identification of three individuals involved in the murder.
The motive appeared to be premeditated, as the suspects had met with Bass prior to the fatal confrontation. According to his mother, they had an opportunity to simply rob him but instead chose to pursue and kill him. This senseless act of violence devastated his family, particularly his mother, Samica Sandelbach, who had tragically lost her older son to gun violence just six months earlier.
Justice for Jakobe Bass saw one of the suspects, Aeshon Loggins, sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder. A second individual received a four-year sentence. The third person, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, may not face charges. Despite the legal outcomes, Bass's mother expressed that the sentences felt too lenient for the heinous nature of the crime that took her son's life.
