ST. LOUIS, MO (May 22 , 2024) — Daevone Austin, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting Moy’e Elkins, 30, on January 13, 2021, at a BP gas station in the 3500 block of Natural Bridge Avenue in the City’s Greater Ville neighborhood.

Austin was inside the gas station about 6 p.m. when Elkins walked in. As they passed one another, Austin pulled a gun from his right front pocket, turned, shot Elkins in the back of the head, and fled. The entire incident was captured on surveillance footage. Elkins was not armed.

When police apprehended and interviewed Austin several months later, he admitted to the shooting. A few months earlier, the two men had gotten into a verbal argument which apparently led to the shooting.

Austin will serve a total of 24 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections: 21 years for the murder and three years for armed criminal action.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorneys Kerri Davis and Sherry Wolk.

“This was a senseless murder that could easily have been avoided,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “We will continue to hold violent individuals accountable and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

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