Suspect in officer’s murder released on bond

ST. LOUIS - New details are emerging following a 17-year cold case involving the murder of Demond Taylor, a Florissant Valley Campus Police Officer.

On June 20, 2008, Taylor was fatally shot while sitting inside a car near Page and Academy Avenues in the city of St. Louis. Taylor was off duty at the time of the shooting.

For 17 years, the case went unsolved. But this past weekend, the circuit attorney's office, alongside St. Louis police, announced charges against 46-year-old Brandon  Levy. 

According to court documents, investigators relied largely on eyewitness testimony. Police say three witnesses came forward between 2018 and 2025, each alleging Levy mistakenly shot Taylor, believing he was a rival gang member. 

Authorities noted that officer Taylor would have turned 52 this past Sunday.

Levy was charged with one count of first-degree murder, but he has now been released, posting a $5,000 cash-only bond. 

“After a confined docket hearing on August 25, 2025, Associate Circuit Judge Michael Colona modified the defendant’s bond to $50,000 cash-only, requiring 10 percent to be posted. The State requested that the bond conditions imposed on August 23, 2025, remain in place. The defendant posted bond, and the court released him under court-ordered conditions.

The court-ordered conditions require the defendant to attend all hearings, comply with all judgments and sentences, notify the court of any change of address, not tamper with victims or witnesses (and prevent others from doing so on his behalf), obey all laws, and not possess weapons or narcotics unless prescribed. The Circuit Attorney’s Office does not comment on pending cases,” the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office wrote to FOX 2.

Levy's next bond hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3 at 10 a.m., and a preliminary hearing is on Sept. 25.