Donald Lee Yorker, a 53-year-old male resident of St. Louis, Missouri, was fatally shot on February 5, 2021, in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood. Yorker had just arrived at his home in the 3300 block of Leola Avenue around 5:30 p.m. and was unloading items from his vehicle when he was approached by a stranger. The individual asked Yorker for directions to Union Station.
As Yorker attempted to help the stranger by providing the requested information, the man produced a 9mm handgun and shot him once in the face. Yorker was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department utilized cell phone data to place the suspect at the scene of the crime. The analysis of the phone also revealed a saved image of the victim from a television news broadcast. Police identified the suspect as Ledra Craig, who was 18 years old at the time of the shooting. Authorities arrested Craig just over a month after the incident, charging him in connection with the unprovoked attack that ended Yorker’s life.
In April 2024, a jury found Ledra Craig guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. During the sentencing hearing on July 1, 2024, St. Louis Circuit Judge Madeline Connolly handed down a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge. Additionally, Craig received a consecutive 15-year sentence for the armed criminal action charge. Prosecutors described the killing as a cold-blooded act against a man who was merely trying to be helpful to a stranger.
