Man charged after crash leads to shooting death in north St. Louis County
A man faces felony charges after a crash led to another man's shooting death earlier this month in north St. Louis County.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A man faces felony charges after a crash led to another man's shooting death earlier this month in north St. Louis County.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Elijah Graham, 21, with five felonies on Thursday, including first-degree murder, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal action.
Investigators say Graham fired shots at two vehicles after crashing into one of those vehicles on the evening of Dec. 5 in the 7400 block of West Florissant Avenue. One person in each vehicle was shot, while a 36-year-old man who was wounded died from his injuries. Police have identified that victim as Michael Gist.
According to charging documents obtained by FOX 2, Graham fired shots from inside his vehicle shortly after the crash. He then reportedly stopped on the road ahead, got out of the car, and fired more shots at the vehicle involved in the crash.
The gunfire struck one person inside the vehicle involved in the crash with Graham, in addition to Gist in the second vehicle nearby.
Graham allegedly drove away from the scene after that.
While investigating, police found an abandoned vehicle that was suspected in the crash and linked to Graham through fingerprint evidence. Graham was arrested sometime later.
According to charging documents, Graham initially denied any involvement in the shooting, though later admitted to shooting at a vehicle after a crash. He claimed that the driver of that vehicle had displayed a gun and returned fire.
Investigators say audio and video recordings indicated Graham fired shots first. When questioned on that matter by police, he did not dispute that statement, per charging documents.
Detectives with the St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons Department are handling this investigation.
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