A St. Louis County judge on Friday found Dan Pruitt guilty in the 2021 killing of Courtland Crump, closing a long‑running case that stretched back more than five years and now heads into the sentencing phase next month.
Pruitt was convicted of second‑degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Crump, 32, according to First Alert 4.
Crump was shot and killed in Berkeley on March 30, 2021, and his death is listed in local homicide records. The St. Louis Post‑Dispatch homicide tracker notes the case as one of the county's early‑spring killings that year.
Charges and what they carry
Under Missouri law, second‑degree murder is a Class A felony. The offense is defined in Missouri Revised Statutes §565.021, and commentary on Missouri sentencing explains that Class A felonies are typically punished by 10 to 30 years or life in prison. Armed criminal action is charged separately as a weapons enhancement tied to the underlying crime. Missouri Revised Statutes §571.015 classifies armed criminal action as an unclassified felony that brings a consecutive prison term, generally three to 15 years, and a period of ineligibility for parole; LegalClarity summarizes the usual sentencing ranges.
Sentencing for Pruitt is set for August 21, according to First Alert 4. At that hearing, the judge is expected to weigh arguments from both sides and impose a term that could include additional consecutive time for the armed‑criminal‑action conviction.
The case will stay on the St. Louis County Circuit Court calendar until the August hearing, when court filings and the sentencing transcript will put the final outcome on the record.
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