Friday, Jun. 05, 2009

'It was a mistake,' cop-killing suspect says; didn't want to get caught with gun

A 22-year-old Alorton man who police said gunned down a veteran Centreville police lieutenant was in a Centreville jail three weeks ago on domestic battery charges.

Lemuel Antwan Houston was arraigned Friday on a charge first-degree murder in the death of Lt. Greg Jonas, 59, during a routine patrol early Tuesday.

Houston told Major Case Squad investigators he shot Jonas to avoid getting charged with having a weapon when Jonas stopped him and others at the Ernest Smith Apartments, a public housing complex known to residents as “the Fireworks” for all the gunplay.

When asked after the hearing whether he had anything to say, Houston told reporters: “It was a mistake.”

During the arraignment, Houston quietly answered St. Clair County Circuit Judge John Baricevic’s questions in a locked courtroom with three bailiffs, three members of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, an officer from Shiloh and another from O’Fallon. The hearing was moved to the fourth floor of the courthouse, and the courtroom wascleared for security purposes.

Baricevic told Houston that if he’s convicted, he faces 20 to 60 years or a life sentence and that prosecutors could seek the death penalty. Baricevic assigned James Gomric, of the public defender’s office, to represent him. Houston is being held on $10 million bail.

Centreville Assistant Police Chief James Mister confirmed that Houston was arrested about three weeks ago on domestic charges, and that the case should be pending in St. Clair County Court. Centreville Police were familiar with him, Mister said. Neither he nor Madison County Sheriff’s Department Maj. John Lakin, a spokesman for the Major Case Squard, would discuss Houston’s criminal background.

Lakin said Houston is the only person who will be charged. He previously said police had two suspects in custody. He did not disclose whether the second person was a witness or what his role was.

Various members of law enforcement expressed their condolences to the Jonas family and talked about the pain the murder brought to them as fellow law enforcement officers.

Photographer Tim Vizer contributed to this report. Contact reporter Carolyn P. Smith at 239-2503.