A St. Louis jury has handed down a verdict of guilty for 46-year-old Jeffrey Leslie for the second-degree murder of Alonzo Jones in a May 2023 shooting incident. Leslie was also convicted of first-degree assault, armed criminal action, and attempted robbery, with sentencing set for April 14. This conviction adds to Leslie's prior record of drug and weapons charges.
The deadly exchange took place on the 1500 block of Destrehan Street in Hyde Park. Responding officers discovered Jones with a fatal gunshot wound to his chest. Tommie Edward Latimore III, 32, detailed the events to the police. Latimore stated that he and his girlfriend arrived at the scene and noticed a Jeep Grand Cherokee parked across the street. Jones emerged from the vehicle armed and, alongside his accomplice Izel Nash, began firing at Latimore, leading to a shootout in which Jones was killed.
According to a statement from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, the whole ordeal was captured on surveillance footage. After the confrontation, Leslie, along with Nash, attempted to retrieve Jones's body and, upon realizing he had died, they collected his firearm before fleeing in the Jeep.
Assistant Circuit Attorneys Adam Field and Andrew Costello led the prosecution against Leslie. Celebrating the outcome, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore remarked on the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office website, "By successfully prosecuting violent criminals like Jeffrey Leslie and Izel Nash, we are making our city safer." Gore continued, expressing gratitude toward the jury: "We are grateful to the jury for its verdict in this case."
