Man pleads guilty to 2022 fatal triple shooting

ST. LOUIS – Last week, a man accused of killing two men and wounding a teenager in a triple shooting appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court and pleaded guilty in the case.

The shooting happened at 9:50 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2022, near North Broadway and East Taylor Avenue, located in the city’s North Riverfront neighborhood

St. Louis police and prosecutors said Eric W. Wooten, 28, was riding in a vehicle with Kevin Payne, Florentino Pegues, and a 16-year-old boy after the group had spent the day filming a music video. Wooten took out a pistol and shot all three victims in the car before exiting the passenger seat and running from the scene.

Wooten was taken into custody a short time later while running across Interstate 70.

Payne was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 19. Pegues and the teenager were rushed to the hospital. Pegues later died on Aug. 7, 2022, due to complications from the shooting. He was 34.

Wooten pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault. He will be sentenced on Oct. 10.