In the winter of 2022, a St. Louis man's life was tragically cut short in a grocery store parking lot. Troy Bond, a 38-year-old Black male, was fatally shot on December 3rd in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. The incident unfolded around 5:30 p.m. outside a Price Chopper on Goodfellow Boulevard, a place of everyday errands that became a scene of violence. Bond was seated in the back of a Nissan sedan with his child when the driver, Brittney D.
Gardner, the mother of the child, stepped out of the vehicle.
Surveillance footage captured the moments that followed as Gardner, then 28 years old, walked around to the rear passenger door and opened fire, striking Bond in the neck. Despite his severe injuries, Bond managed to get out of the car and stumbled into the supermarket, where he collapsed and ultimately succumbed to his wounds. Gardner fled the scene with their child in the vehicle.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department quickly began an investigation, and Gardner was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. She later handed her gun over to the police. Initially, prosecutors charged Brittney D. Gardner with first-degree murder, endangering a child, and two counts of armed criminal action. The case drew considerable attention due to the violent nature of the crime and the fact that it occurred in the presence of a child. Bond's family and friends mourned his sudden and violent death, remembering him through memorial services.
In a subsequent legal development, Brittney Gardner, then 31, accepted a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. As a result of the plea agreement, the charges of first-degree murder, child endangerment, and armed criminal action were dismissed. Gardner was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the killing of Troy Bond. During the sentencing, some of Bond's sisters expressed their preference for a jury trial over the plea agreement.
