Derion Davis, a St. Louis County teen, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the 2024 shooting death of his friend, 16-year-old Amorion Fuller.
The case began with a sleepover involving Davis and two friends, including Fuller. STLtoday.com reported that the gathering was at a home in the 300 block of Goetz Avenue; an earlier account in the St. Louis Homicide Tracker also placed it in the 300 block. The accounts differ on Davis’s age at the time: STLtoday.com reported he was 17, while the tracker said he was 16. The reporting said Fuller lived in the 8600 block of Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis.
Court records cited in the reporting say the next morning, Davis and Fuller argued over pizza and vape pens. During the dispute, Davis gained control of Fuller’s gun; the homicide tracker’s account of police statements says Davis had both pistols pointed at Fuller at one point.
How the Argument Turned Deadly
Charging documents quoted by the homicide tracker say Davis fired both pistols, striking Fuller twice in the neck. Fuller died at the scene on Aug. 20, 2024. Investigators later searched Davis’s social media and executed search warrants related to the shooting on Goetz Avenue.
Davis was initially charged in juvenile court before the case moved to adult court. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged him as an adult in September 2025 with second-degree murder and armed criminal action, according to FOX 2. He later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. Under Missouri law, the offense can apply when a person recklessly causes another person's death, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
Judge Cites Pattern of Escalating Offenses
In explaining the sentence, Judge Jason Dodson pointed to Davis’s juvenile record, which dated to 2022 and included misdemeanor assaults, resisting arrest, incidents involving stolen vehicles, burglary and repeated trespassing offenses. Dodson described the offenses as escalating.
Dodson also said Davis had not complied with earlier probation sentences imposed by juvenile court. About two years and two months elapsed by the time of sentencing.
Youth Gun Violence and Prevention
The available figures provide broader context, but do not isolate St. Louis County or explain this case. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says homicide was the second leading cause of death among Missouri children from birth through age 18 in 2023. In a separate regional count, 5 On Your Side reported that 140 children under 17 in the St. Louis area of Missouri and Illinois were victims of gun violence in 2022, including 18 who died. The statewide and regional figures describe different populations and years; neither establishes a trend or cause for this shooting. The St. Louis County Children's Service Fund says the St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission's Youth Events grants support nonprofit organizations offering events for St. Louis-area youth ages 15 to 25, with the aim of reducing at-risk behaviors. The program is not identified as connected to this case.
