Police release details on 3 Cahokia Heights shootings that left teen dead, another hurt
One of the three men charged in connection with a series of shootings in Cahokia Heights that left a teen dead and another teen injured allegedly told police he was “angry” over the fatal shooting of the 15-year-old victim in a car and that’s why he fired shots into an occupied home, a St. Clair County prosecutor said Thursday.
In the wake of the teenager’s shooting death, at least three men have been charged with firearms offenses in connection with the shootings, and two of the men have been ordered by a judge to be detained in the county jail. Prosecutors have asked for a detention hearing for the third man, but it has not yet been scheduled.
Charles E. Jones, 15, of Cahokia Heights, died Monday morning at Saint Louis University Hospital after he was shot on Saturday night, according to the St. Louis Medical Examiner’s office.
Xavier Lacey, 19, of the 4700 block of Piggott Avenue in Cahokia Heights, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with shots fired into a home occupied by one of the suspects in the 100 block of Lazarcheff Drive in Cahokia Heights, according to charging documents.
Lacey allegedly told police he was “angry that Jones was shot,” according to St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Melvin Kimberlin, who spoke during a detention hearing Thursday for Lacey.
St. Clair County Associate Judge Sara L. Rice ruled that Lacey should be detained.
Lacey was represented by St. Clair County Assistant Public Defender Karen Craig, who told Rice that Lacey denies involvement in the shooting.
Kimberlin told Rice there were three separate shootings Saturday night linked to Jones’ death.
Jones, who was in a car with several people including Lacey, had fired one shot before he was shot in the back of his head and neck, Kimberlin said.
“It sounded like Beirut out here,” is how one Lazarcheff Drive resident described the multiple shootings to police, Kimberlin said.
Kimberlin also said a Cahokia Heights police officer who had responded to a call for help told investigators he heard 30 rounds fired from three or four weapons.
The shooting of Jones occurred in the 100 block of Lazarcheff Drive between 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release Friday from the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, which led the investigation.
Here’s the lineup of the three shootings:
▪ Jones was shot in the first shooting, which occurred near the intersection of Kenneth Avenue and Armand Drive. “Two males, an 18-year-old, and, 21-year-old, Dontae Jackson, were walking along the roadway when a white Nissan Maxima approached them,” the news release states. “The Nissan slowed down at which point there was an exchange of gunshots between occupants of the vehicle and one of the pedestrians.” The two men on the street went to a home in the 100 block of Lazarcheff Drive home and Jones, who was in the Nissan, was taken to Touchette Regional Hospital.
▪ The second shooting occurred when the Nissan returned to the Lazarcheff Drive neighborhood and there was an exchange of gunfire with the same 18-year-old and Jackson, according to the news release. A 15-year-old in the Nissan was injured in this shooting.
This victim suffered a leg wound, according to Kimberlin.
▪ The final shooting occurred a short time later. The occupants of the Nissan returned to the 100 block of Lazarcheff Drive in a black Inifiniti Q50. No one was injured in this exchange of gunfire, police said.
The Nissan and the Infiniti were stolen in St. Louis and have been recovered. Also, police said several firearms were recovered.
Here’s a roundup of the charges filed against the other suspects:
▪ Jackson, of the 100 block of Lazarcheff Drive, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. According to charging documents, Jackson fired a handgun in the direction of a 2017 Nissan Altima, knowing that the car was occupied. Jackson was ordered to be detained on Thursday. The charging document lists his first name as Donte but the detention order lists his first name as Dontae.
The court order against Jackson notes prosecutors allege Jackson and an 18-year-old fired gunshots toward an occupied vehicle and that a person in this car died from his wounds.
▪ Deontrez D. Mosley, 18, of the 5600 block of Central Avenue, was charged with one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm and two counts of receiving and possessing a stolen vehicle. Mosley shot at the same Lazarcheff Drive home that Lacey is accused of shooting into, according to charging documents. A detention hearing has not been set for Mosley.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 7:45 PM.
