In the fall of 2021, the life of 38-year-old Christopher Chaney was tragically cut short on a Wednesday morning in Pine Lawn, a suburb of St. Louis. On November 10th, Chaney was shot in the 3800 block of Jennings Station Road. Before succumbing to his injuries, he was able to identify the person who shot him, a crucial piece of information that would quickly lead investigators to a suspect.
The investigation, led by the North County Police Cooperative, swiftly focused on 17-year-old
Kevin Fields. He was taken into custody on the very same day as the fatal shooting. Evidence tying Fields to the crime began to mount. Surveillance footage from the area of the shooting captured a dark-colored Chrysler 300 speeding away from the scene. Upon his arrest, police discovered a key fob for a Chrysler 300 in Fields' possession. The vehicle it belonged to was found nearby and matched the car seen in the video. Furthermore, a gun seized from Fields at the time of his arrest was ballistically matched to a shell casing recovered at the location of the shooting.
In May 2022, the justice system made the decision to certify Kevin Fields as an adult to face charges for his alleged role in Christopher Chaney's death. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Following his certification as an adult, Fields was held at the St. Louis County Justice Center on a $750,000 cash-only bond as he awaited trial.
By November 2024, the case against Kevin Fields, then 20 years old, came to a head in a St. Louis County courtroom. A jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, as well as armed criminal action. For the murder conviction, the jury recommended a sentence of 15 years, and an additional 3 years for the armed criminal action charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 18 years in prison. His formal sentencing was scheduled for December of that year.
