ST. LOUIS – More than three years after a 14-year-old boy was gunned down in the city’s West End neighborhood, a second suspect in the killing has been arrested and charged.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the shooting happened around 5:25 p.m. on March 8, 2021, in the 1100 block of Hodiamont Avenue.
Police claim to have obtained surveillance video showing two people, identified as Omarion Mays and James J. Blake, attack Kathon Moore by throwing him off his bicycle. Mays is seen taking out a gun and shooting the victim in the head while he’s on the ground. Mays and Blake then stole marijuana from Moore’s body and fled.
Witnesses identified Mays as one of the suspects. When officers questioned Mays, he admitted participating in the robbery but denied shooting the teenager, opting to put the blame on Blake.
Mays was charged in March 2024 with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action. Mays is already jailed in a separate case. A judge ruled Mays would remain jailed without bond for Moore’s killing.
Blake was taken into custody on April 25. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Blake with first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and first-degree robbery. He remains in jail pending trial. Blake is due to appear in court on May 6 for a detention hearing.