St. Charles Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Fatal Shooting During 2023 Marijuana Deal

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting someone during a marijuana deal in 2023.

The shooting occurred on May 25, 2023, in an alley behind the 4800 block of Farlin Avenue in St. Louis. Trevon Carson, now 32, of St. Charles, drove the marijuana buyer, Earl S. Hill, to the alley. Carson was armed despite having been convicted multiple times of felonies, including assault and robbery. The marijuana seller's friend stepped out of his own car holding an AR-style firearm and began to approach Carson's car. Carson got out of his vehicle, fatally shot the victim and took his gun.

"Carson never called for help. Carson never rendered aid. Carson simply left the victim to die in the alley," a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen says.

On June 13, 2023, the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, having learned of Carson's involvement, conducted a court-approved search of his home and found three loaded handguns and an AR-style firearm.

Carson pleaded guilty in November in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death.

Hill, 33, of Maryland Heights, was sentenced in February to 127 months in prison after pleading guilty to the conspiracy charge and one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen prosecuted the case.