On September 28, 2020, officers in St. Louis County responded to a disturbance at an apartment complex in Spanish Lake and found 25-year-old Eric Hearton Jr. dead in a courtyard near the rear of the buildings. Hearton had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say the incident began as a verbal argument between Hearton and 25-year-old Kameron Dozier, who lived at the complex, and escalated into a physical fight outside Dozier’s apartment. Authorities allege Dozier went inside, retrieved a firearm and waited by his door. When Hearton approached Dozier’s patio door carrying a small barbecue pit, Dozier admitted to detectives that he fired three shots, striking Hearton. Three shell casings were found outside the apartment, and police say Hearton was not armed with a knife or gun and did not enter the apartment.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Kameron Dozier with second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action; Dozier was held on a $150,000 cash-only bond. Does anyone have information about this case or knew Eric Hearton Jr.?