On the afternoon of October 24, 2023, Calvin Kelly, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot in the Penrose neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The shooting occurred just after 3 p.m. in the 4200 block of Shreve Avenue, only a few blocks from where Mr. Kelly lived. First responders found him with a gunshot wound to his head. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he died from his injury about five hours later.
The police investigation led to a suspect, Tabari Freeman, who was 16 years old at the time of the shooting. In December 2023, authorities took Freeman into custody, and he was held at the St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center. His mother, Naiesha Stewart, later learned about the arrest and followed the case closely.
On February 3, 2024, Freeman escaped the juvenile facility on Enright Avenue. Surveillance footage showed him rolling under a security gate in the parking garage.
Because he was a minor, his identity was not immediately released to the public, a decision that frustrated Mr. Kelly’s family. After a search that lasted several weeks, law enforcement officers recaptured Freeman on February 27 and returned him to custody.
Following his recapture, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office certified Freeman to stand trial as an adult. In April 2024, he was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with Calvin Kelly’s death.
In March 2025, Freeman, then 18, reached an agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree involuntary manslaughter. In exchange for his plea, the other three charges were dismissed. In court, Freeman apologized for the shooting. A judge accepted the plea deal and sentenced him to three years in a Missouri state prison. Mr. Kelly's mother, grandmother, and twin brother were present for the sentencing and expressed their grief and dissatisfaction, stating they did not believe three years was a long enough sentence. The judge acknowledged their pain and why they felt justice had not been served.
