On May 14, 2022, 32-year-old Clifton Lee Cooley Jr. was fatally shot in the Bevo Mill neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene in the 3800 block of Eichelberger Street, where they discovered Cooley suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. He was found at the bottom of a stairwell and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Homicide investigators determined that the shooting occurred during an argument between Cooley and another individual.
Authorities identified the suspect as DeAndre Wilkes, a resident of Ferguson, Missouri. Wilkes, who was 43 years old at the time of his sentencing, was taken into custody and charged in connection with Cooley's death. During the legal proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence that Wilkes shot Cooley, who was unarmed at the time of the altercation. Although Wilkes initially denied involvement and later claimed he acted in self-defense, a jury in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court rejected those claims.
In September 2023, the jury found Wilkes guilty of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action following a trial that included eight hours of deliberation. The following month, in October 2023, a judge sentenced Wilkes to a total of 30 years in prison for his role in the killing. During the sentencing hearing, Wilkes expressed regret for his actions. The case was prosecuted by the Circuit Attorney’s Office as part of an effort to address violent crime in the city.
