Man gets life sentence for MetroLink murder in Pagedale
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty Thursday for a murder two years ago at a MetroLink station in Pagedale.
Demetrius Strother, 22, was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years over the shooting death of Jaylin Johnson, 19, on July 6, 2023.
Investigators say Johnson left a MetroLink train near St. Charles Rock Road at Engelholm Avenue just moments before he was killed.
Surveillance video from that evening showed a group of people, including Strother, talking on the trains and pointing at Johnson, reportedly making a plan to target him. Investigators say the group forced Johnson to the ground, took his belongings and shot him while he was on the ground.
Strother pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with Johnson's death.
"I thank the many talented and tireless detectives from the many police departments that made do without them while the Major Case Squad meticulously solved this crime," said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith. "There are too many guns on our streets - and on our public transit. This conviction makes us safer."
Court proceedings against several others accused in the case are pending, according to a spokesperson from the St. Louis County's Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
According to the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, which led the investigation into Johnson's death, suspects also include Darnesha Gwendolyn Thomas-Perry, Steven Anthoney Marion, and Kenneth Alexander Hall.
