On August 9, 2019, 22-year-old Charles Lagrone of Hazelwood went to the Walnut Park West neighborhood in St. Louis for what he believed was a drug deal. He arrived at the 5000 block of Goodfellow Boulevard and was ambushed in a parking lot. Lagrone was fatally shot there; two others with him, a 24-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man, were uninjured.

Investigators identified three people who had conspired to lure Lagrone: Teraz Bateman, Earl Payne, and Cortez McCullough. Court filings say McCullough, who was 14 at the time, fired a rifle into the vehicle. McCullough was certified to be tried as an adult.

At trial and in plea hearings the defendants received different outcomes. In October 2022 a jury convicted Bateman of felony murder, robbery, and armed criminal action; he was sentenced to life. Payne pleaded guilty in 2023 to armed criminal action, robbery, witness tampering, gun theft and a reduced second-degree murder charge and received 20 years. In January 2024 McCullough pleaded guilty to two counts of armed criminal action, stealing and involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years.

Does anyone have information about Lagrone, his activities that day, or the people who arranged the meeting?