A St. Charles man is headed to federal prison for two decades after admitting he gunned down another man during a 2023 marijuana deal in a north St. Louis alley, then took the victim’s weapon and drove his buyer away without stopping to help, according to authorities.
20-year term handed down
As reported by FOX 2, the 20-year sentence was imposed Wednesday under a plea deal that wrapped up the federal case. Prosecutors had asked the court to sign off on the full two-decade term as part of that agreement.
The plea and the shooting
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Trevon Carson pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death. The plea filing says Carson drove to a May 25, 2023 meeting in the alley behind the 4800 block of Farlin Avenue, got out of his vehicle because he feared the victim would shoot first, then fatally shot the man, took the victim’s AR-style rifle and drove the buyer away. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen handled the prosecution.
Weapons and co-defendant details
FOX 2 reported that investigators later recovered multiple weapons tied to Carson’s home, including three loaded handguns and another AR-style rifle. The station also identified the buyer as Earl S. Hill and noted that Hill has separately faced federal drug charges and received a sentence of more than a decade in another case. For background on the guilty plea, see prior guilty plea coverage.
Federal enforcement around drug-related shootings
Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Missouri have leaned on federal drug and firearms statutes in recent years to go after cases where dealing spills into deadly violence. U.S. Attorney materials highlight dozens of recent indictments and sentences under Project Safe Neighborhoods and related efforts that target drug distribution and firearms offenses.
Carson, identified in court records as being from St. Charles, will serve his time in federal prison. The plea deal meant there was no trial, capping a multiagency investigation by local police and the FBI into the fatal shooting behind Farlin Avenue.
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