Derrick Johnson

Derrick Johnson was a 19-year-old Black man who was shot and killed inside a home in St. Louis, Missouri. On the evening of May 29, 2023, he was playing video games at a residence in the 4900 block of Leahy Avenue in the city’s Mark Twain neighborhood. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, a suspect entered the home and opened fire.

An individual who witnessed the shooting fled the scene when the shots were fired. Johnson sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by responding authorities. The investigation quickly led to arrests. Within a week of the homicide, police took two men, Marshean Barnett and Dasean Barrow, both 20, into custody.

In May and June of 2023, prosecutors charged both Barnett and Barrow with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with Johnson’s death. The two men were detained in the St. Louis Justice Center as they awaited trial. For over a year, it appeared the case was proceeding through the justice system.

However, in November 2024, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges against both Barnett and Barrow. A spokesperson for the office explained that the investigation had continued after the initial indictment, and based on newly developed evidence, the decision was made to drop the prosecution. An attorney for Barnett stated that his client had no knowledge a murder was going to be committed and was not in the room when the shooting occurred. Following the dismissal, Barnett was released from custody.

As of November 2024, with the charges against the only suspects dropped, Derrick Johnson's murder remains unsolved.