Belleville man is fourth indicted in connection with 2023 murder

A Belleville man has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal 2023 shooting.

Lamonte D. Barnes, 24, was charged in June with one count of first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Ralen T. Liverpool. Barnes was indicted by a St. Clair County grand jury.

Charging documents allege Barnes shot Liverpool multiple times with the intent of killing or seriously harming Liverpool.

According to previous BND reporting, Cahokia Heights Police responded to the 400 block of N. 73rd Street on the evening of April 4, 2023 on the report that shots had been fired. There they found Liverpool unresponsive inside his vehicle.

The car was parked on Gleenwood Street and its window was shot out. Liverpool was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to a release from the Major Case Squad of Great St. Louis issued the day of the shooting.

Three others were charged with first degree murder of Liverpool in 2023: Lavar A. Gilbert Jr., now 27, Elijah D. Tillman, now 24, and Aliya C. Zeilman, now 22.

According to St. Clair County Court Records, both Gilbert and Zeilman are scheduled for sentencing on Monday, Sept. 29.

Court records show Zeilman pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in that she brought Liverpool to the location of the murder. The original indictment on the murder will be dismissed at sentencing, the order states.

An order says Gilbert pleaded guilty to an offense of armed violence, a class X felony, and that other charges may be dismissed at sentencing.

Tillman has a jury trial set for Sept. 22, according to court records.