In the summer of 2017, the streets of St. Louis, Missouri, became the setting for a violent conclusion to a targeted dispute involving a 25-year-old African American male named Kevin Davis Jr. On the afternoon of June 30, Davis found himself being pursued through the 1900 block of Belt Avenue in the Wells Goodfellow neighborhood. The chase ended abruptly when a gunman opened fire, discharging a weapon approximately 25 times.
Davis was struck multiple times and succumbed to his injuries, his death marking a grim milestone in what federal investigators would later reveal was a calculated assassination driven by a high-stakes bounty system.
The investigation into Davis's death uncovered a sprawling narcotics conspiracy led by Maurice Herbert Lee II, a local drug ring leader who had placed a price on the heads of rival gang members and dealers. Authorities discovered that Lee had offered bounties ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 for these killings. On the day of the murder, an associate named Delvin Bost contacted Lee to confirm that the bounty on Kevin Davis was still active. Upon receiving confirmation, the plot was set in motion, and the fatal shooting was carried out shortly thereafter. Bost later claimed credit for the hit, collecting $10,000 from Lee, which he then used to pay the actual gunman.
Federal agents and local police eventually dismantled the criminal organization, charging 17 individuals in connection with the drug ring and related violence. The man identified as the shooter, Michael 'Beezy' Johnson, was chased down by the relentless inquiry of law enforcement. Witnesses and evidence pointed to Johnson as the person who had chased Davis and fired the fatal barrage. In court proceedings years later, Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and admitted to the killing. He was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. Delvin Bost also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for his role in coordinating the bounty and was sentenced to nine years behind bars. The ringleader, Maurice Lee, admitted to ordering the hit and paying the bounty, pleading guilty to multiple federal charges related to drug distribution and firearm conspiracies.
