On the late afternoon of June 1, 2020, Demetris Bogard, a 29-year-old man from St. Louis, was shot in a business complex parking lot in Earth City, Missouri. He was found with at least one gunshot wound, taken to a nearby hospital, and died of his injuries. The St. Louis County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons unit led the investigation.

Authorities quickly identified 34-year-old Michael Barney as the suspect. According to the probable cause statement, Barney approached Bogard, asked if he was carrying, and after Bogard said he was, Barney fired, striking him in the back. Barney then fled, flagged down a car in the lot, and rode south on Highway 141 to Fenton. During that ride the driver says Barney admitted he had shot someone and moved a semi-automatic handgun from his waistband to his lap.

Barney later turned himself in and was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action; he was held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. The motive remains unclear. If anyone knew Bogard or witnessed the shooting or the moments after it, please share what was seen.