Two charged in East St. Louis MetroLink shooting

Two East St. Louis men have been charged in connection with a Monday shooting at an East St. Louis MetroLink stop.

Keymond C. Gattlen, 20, and Keonte R. McCurtis, 22, were charged Thursday by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office with several felony offenses. Both men were charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, a class X felony. According to the criminal complaint filed in their cases, Gattlen is accused of firing the shots at the Emerson Park MetroLink station.

St. Clair County sheriff’s deputies responded to the station at 10:45 p.m. Monday for a report of shots fired with one person wounded. Gattlen is accused of shooting Marques Phillips in the torso with a handgun. Police said Phillips was shot after he exited a train that had just arrived at the station.

Police said the shooting happened after an alleged attempted robbery. A 29-year-old man told police he fled to the station after some people threatened him with a weapon at his apartment, which is located near the station. The man said he went to the station to look for police help. The man told police two men were following him.

Phillips was taken to Saint Louis University Hospital with a wound that was not considered life-threatening.

Both men also were charged with attempted armed robbery, a class X felony, and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a class 1 felony. According to court documents, Gattlen and McCurtis “brandished a handgun and demanded vehicle keys belonging to Deveontay Brown.” Gattlen and McCurtis are also accused of discharging a firearm in Brown’s direction.

Gattlen faces an additional charge of possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number.

Judge Jan Fiss set Gattlen’s bail at $750,000. According to a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department news release, Gattlen was currently out on bond for a pending felony charge of unlawful use of a weapon from May 2016. Fiss set McCurtis’ bail at $500,000. Gattlen and McCurtis were being held Thursday at the St. Clair County Jail.

If convicted, Gattlen and McCurtis face up to 30 years in prison on each class X charge. Their first court appearance has not been set. According to the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk’s website, the case has pending grand jury actions.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Two charged in East St. Louis MetroLink shooting."