In the summer of 2020, a burst of violence in the Walnut Park West neighborhood of St. Louis claimed the life of 22-year-old Malik Taylor. On the afternoon of July 29th, near the intersection of West Florissant Avenue and Goodfellow Boulevard, a shootout erupted between two rival groups. When the gunfire ceased, five people had been shot. Taylor, along with 18-year-old Elijah McKinney and 18-year-old Daijon Nearing, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other individuals, a 17-year-old boy and a 37-year-old man, were also wounded but survived the incident.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's homicide division immediately launched an investigation into the triple homicide. Their efforts led to a significant development in November 2020 with the arrest of 17-year-old Joshua Amerson in connection with the fatal shooting. Amerson faced a litany of charges, including one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, assault, and unlawful use of a weapon. Authorities alleged that he was responsible for the deaths of Taylor, McKinney, and Nearing.
The path to justice, however, proved to be fraught with challenges. In July 2022, prosecutors were forced to dismiss the charges against Amerson due to a lack of witness cooperation. While this legal maneuver, known as a nolle prosequi, would have allowed for the charges to be refiled at a later date, they were ultimately dismissed again in June 2023 for the same reason. Shortly after the murder charges were dropped, Amerson was arrested again on unrelated drug trafficking charges.
