On May 3, 2023, a dispute inside an apartment in the 4400 block of Forest Park Parkway in St. Louis’ Central West End escalated and carried outside. Twenty-nine-year-old Miguel Alexander Johnson fled the apartment during the altercation, ran onto the sidewalk near North Taylor and Laclede avenues, and was shot multiple times in the afternoon. He was taken to a nearby hospital and died of his wounds less than an hour later.

Witnesses gave police descriptions of two men who pursued Johnson. Officers arrested both after a short foot chase; both men were armed when taken into custody. One of the suspects, 23-year-old Ta’Shaun L. Patterson, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action and received a 15-year term for the murder plus a consecutive three years for the weapons charge. The other suspect, 22-year-old Syntrell Howard, is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a gun, with trial pending.

If anyone saw the confrontation or the foot pursuit near North Taylor and Laclede avenues on May 3, 2023, police would still welcome information.