Belleville 16-year-old died in drug deal gone wrong. Six charged with his murder
Six were charged with first-degree murder by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office Monday in connection with a drug deal that resulted in the shooting death of a 16-year-old Belleville resident.
The teenage victim, Demauryon Smith, was able to speak to investigators with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis before he died in a St. Louis hospital last Wednesday, police said.
The six charged include:
- Keandre D. Hollins, 21, 1613 Hedge Road, Champaign, Illinois, was charged with armed violence in addition to first-degree murder.
- Olivia R. Willey, 19, 1613 Hedge Road, Champaign, was charged with first-degree murder and armed violence.
- Nicholas A. Lester, 17, 6315 West Washington, Belleville, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery.
- Nolan R. Birge, 17, 117 Autumn Pine, O’Fallon, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery.
- Tarik M. Horton, 19, 38 Ben Louis, Belleville, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery.
- Marquis C. Triplett, 16, 28 S. 76th St., Belleville, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery.
Smith was shot at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 6300 block of West Washington Street on Belleville’s west side. He was first taken to Memorial Hospital in Belleville and then airlifted to a St. Louis hospital, where he died.
According to Matt Eiskant, deputy commander of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad and assistant Belleville police chief, Hollins and Willey traveled from Champaign to Belleville to complete a drug deal. The other four suspects and Smith were attempting to rob them when Hollins opened fire, striking Smith, Eiskant said.
“During the transaction, the deceased and his friends, all co-defendents, attempted to commit armed robbery on the drug dealers,” Eiskant said. “During the attempt of armed robbery, the dealer shot the victim.”
Eiskant said all six were charged with the murder because Smith was killed during a felony crime in which they were all involved.
Since the Major Case Squad was activated at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, about 20 officers from the region followed numerous leads from residents who were on the scene.
Two of the six suspects were arrested Friday while the other four were taken in custody Saturday, Eiskant said.
They were being held at the St. Clair County Jail as of Monday morning.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
