On the afternoon of October 22, 2020, a violent encounter in the Greater Ville neighborhood of St. Louis claimed the life of a local student. Ezell Johnson III, a 15-year-old male, was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle on the 4200 block of East Ashland Avenue when he was ambushed. Just after 1:00 p.m., a gunman approached the car and opened fire, striking the ninth-grader multiple times. Emergency responders transported him to St.
Louis Children's Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Homicide detectives processing the scene discovered a chaotic environment, noting a white sedan in the vicinity that had sustained heavy ballistic damage. Police recovered multiple shell casings from a 9mm weapon scattered across the ground. Inside the car where the victim had been seated, investigators found a. 40 caliber pistol lying next to him. The forensic evidence and witness accounts helped authorities identify a suspect, leading to a focused search operation in the days following the shooting.
On October 30, 2020, law enforcement officers located and arrested 19-year-old Tevin Collins at a residence in the 10000 block of Royal Drive. Collins was found hiding in the basement of the home, where police also discovered a 9mm Sig-Sauer pistol concealed within an air duct. Following his apprehension, Collins admitted to the crime, explaining to investigators that he believed the victim had fired at him during a drive-by shooting the previous night. He stated that he felt deceived by the teen, which motivated the retaliatory attack.
The legal proceedings concluded in November 2023 when Collins faced judgment for his actions. Although originally charged with first-degree murder, he accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to reduced charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. A judge sentenced him to a total of 18 years in prison, comprised of a 15-year term for the murder charge and a consecutive three-year term for the weapons offense, with credit granted for the time he had served in jail awaiting trial.
