On the evening of April 17, 2023, tragedy struck at the intersection of Forest Avenue and Calhoun Street in Springfield, Missouri, when 18-year-old Lavelle C. Rose III was shot and killed. The young man, a male from East St. Louis, Illinois, was a passenger in a vehicle when gunfire erupted. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The female driver of the vehicle was also struck by bullets but survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
The investigation into the homicide quickly led Springfield police to identify two suspects. The day after the shooting, on April 18, 2023, authorities arrested 21-year-old Justin L. Bartels of St. Louis. Initially, Bartels faced charges of 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, and 1st Degree Assault, as police believed he was the driver of the getaway vehicle. However, he later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of tampering with evidence. A judge sentenced Bartels to four years in prison but suspended the sentence in favor of five years of probation.
The second suspect, identified as 21-year-old Xavier Moore of Springfield, was believed to be the actual shooter. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and on April 25, 2023, he was charged with 1st Degree Murder. Moore managed to evade capture for a period and was considered to be on the run. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals, he was eventually located and apprehended in Chicago, Illinois. On June 25, 2023, Moore was extradited back to Missouri and booked into the Greene County Jail, where he is being held without bond while awaiting trial.
