On the evening of New Year's Day in 2021, Rashon Deangelo Butler, a 30-year-old male, was discovered inside a vehicle in the 300 block of South Dellwood Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Ferguson Police Department responded to an alert of gunshots in the area at approximately 8:23 p.m. and found Butler.
Believing the incident to be a targeted attack, the Major Case Squad of Greater St.
Louis was activated to lead the homicide investigation. Their investigation quickly led to a suspect, and on January 6, 2021, an arrest was made.
John Marshall Thompson Jr., a 33-year-old from St. Louis County, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office subsequently charged Thompson with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. A bond was set at $500,000.
During the course of their investigation, authorities also sought public assistance in locating a vehicle of interest: a white 2014 Ford Escape with Missouri license plate LF8J6R. The vehicle was described as having four doors, tinted windows, a moon roof, and a bullet hole on the passenger side. While an arrest has been made and charges have been filed, the specific circumstances and motive leading up to the shooting remain under investigation. No further information regarding the trial, conviction, or sentencing of John M. Thompson Jr. has been made publicly available.
