Arrest in fatal shooting of beloved retired St. Louis police captain during protests
St. Louis — A 24-year-old St. Louis man has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a retired police captain who died on a night of violent protests while trying to protect his friend's pawn shop, the city's prosecutor announced Sunday.
Stephan Cannon was being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge in the death of David Dorn, 77, who was killed Tuesday on the sidewalk outside Lee's Pawn and Jewelry. Dorn's last moments were caught on video and apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down.
Dorn's death came on a violent night in St. Louis, where four officers were shot, officers were pelted with rocks and fireworks, and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged, including a convenience store that burned.
The unrest came as cities across the U.S. have seen protests and violence since George Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes, even after the handcuffed black man stopped moving and pleading for air.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the charges.
According to a police probable cause statement, Cannon was among those seen on surveillance footage entering the store and then stealing several televisions, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Dorn, a friend of the pawn shop's owner who was in the habit of checking on the business when alarms went off, arrived at the store.
Cannon then walked toward the street corner with a gun in his hand.
Police said video shows Cannon pointing the gun at Dorn and then Dorn falling to the ground, according to CBS St. Louis affiliate KMOV-TV.
"At the time the shots were fired, (Cannon) was the only person standing at that corner," the probable cause statement reads. "Multiple plumes of smoke" can be seen coming from where Cannon was standing, and shell casings were found on the spot, police said.
KMOV says Dorn and two other people were seen getting in a car and driving away.
Cannon also faces several other charges including robbery and felon in possession of a firearm.
"[Dorn] was murdered by looters at a pawn shop. He was the type of brother that would've given his life to save them if he had to," the Ethical Society of Police of St. Louis wrote after the murder, KMOV reports. "Violence is not the answer, whether it's a citizen or officer."
St. Louis police said they also arrested a second man, Jimmie Robinson, for taking part in the pawn shop thefts and charged him with burglary and armed criminal action. Bond for him was set at $30,000.
