On December 19, 2015, Samuel Lee Sanders III, 35, was found in the roadway in front of the Westside Liquor store in Sikeston, Missouri, with a gunshot wound to the chest after a physical altercation. First responders took Sanders to a local medical center, where he later died. He was a husband, father, and worked as an independent commercial truck driver.
Investigators identified 33-year-old Antoine Harris-Applewhite as a suspect; police said the fight began after Harris-Applewhite believed Sanders had stolen marijuana and that Harris-Applewhite sought revenge. A warrant charged Harris-Applewhite with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and authorities called him armed and dangerous.
Prosecutors faced a setback when surveillance video from the liquor store was lost by the Sikeston Department of Public Safety; the defense sought the footage and moved to dismiss the murder charge. A Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator later located the video on a hard drive; it shows the fight but not the shooting itself.
Does anyone have information about Sanders, his movements that day, or the incident outside Westside Liquor?