In the autumn of 2017, a fateful encounter on Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis cut short the life of 26-year-old Ladareace Pool. On the evening of October 3rd, Pool was the target of a premeditated robbery for drugs and money, an ambush that would tragically turn fatal. A group of individuals, later identified as Jerell Henderson, Stephan Jones, Larenta Jones, and Floyd Barber, had conspired to carry out the armed robbery in the 4700 block of the busy thoroughfare, a location where some of
them were known to sell drugs.
As the armed robbery unfolded, Ladareace Pool attempted to flee for his life. In a desperate bid to escape, he was shot twice in the back. The gunshots proved to be fatal, and a homicide investigation was launched by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In the early stages of the investigation, authorities sought the public's help in identifying three persons of interest who were captured on surveillance video entering a store moments before the deadly shooting.
The investigation ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the four men involved in the planned robbery and subsequent murder. In the face of the impending trial, Jerell Henderson, then 32, pleaded guilty to a series of federal charges. These included conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and a charge of possession, brandishing, and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking that resulted in Pool's death. For his role in the crime, Henderson was sentenced to a lengthy 42 ½ years in federal prison.
His co-conspirators also faced justice for their involvement in the tragic death of Ladareace Pool. Larenta Jones received a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the deadly robbery. Stephan Jones, who acted as the driver for the group, was sentenced to five years on a single drug charge. Floyd Barber, the fourth individual convicted in the matter, was, at the time of the other sentencings, still awaiting his fate.
