Dying words tie teen to murder outside elementary school

PINE LAWN, Mo. - Nov. 10, 2021, outside Barack Obama Elementary School on Jennings Station Road—42-year-old Christoper Chaney was shot and killed.

The police report describes a resource officer hearing the shots when letting a fifth grader in the school. The victim reportedly named a teenager he knew as the shooter.

“That’s called a dying declaration,” Cpl. Benjamin Santoyo said with the North County Police Cooperative.

That tip was far from the end of the case.

“Our job is twofold. We not only have a duty to investigate people for their crimes and allegations; we also have a duty to absolve people of those same crimes and allegations,” Santoyo explained.

Police obtained surveillance pictures of the getaway car and worked with several other police departments to trace that car – to that same teenager named by the murder victim.

A search warrant then led to the discovery of the defendant’s alleged firearms, scattered around in a closet and in bedding.

“For me, what took me off guard was the volume,” Santoyo said. “I think in total we recovered like seven weapons as related to this homicide.”

The defendant, who was 17 years old at the time, was certified by the courts as an adult. His alleged guns were taken into evidence by the NCPC. Finding storage space for that evidence and keeping it preserved, Santoyo said, is a job itself.

“When we work with prosecutors like Chris Klaverkamp from the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office who are tough on crime but very vigilant and diligent as well—we have to meet standards," he added.

A jury this month found Kevin Fields guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The jury recommended a sentence of 18 years in prison.

Wesley Bell called it “just another example of senseless violence,” as he emphasized that we cannot overlook the jury’s work.

“Jurors have to sit and take time off work away from their families, and that is part of the process of justice, but also obviously the men and women of our trial team," Bell said.

The victim’s family declined to talk on camera about the case. Santoyo said that doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.

“When I think about the victims, not who actually died but the secondary victims like the mom, the daughters, the siblings, the cousins—those are the people who are really affected, and they didn’t deserve to live that heartache and that loss," Santoyo said.