Man Given Suspended Sentence, Probation for 2020 Car Crash that Killed 17-year-old Girl
September 17, 2024

ST. LOUIS, MO (September 17, 2024) — La’Javion D. Ramsey, 29, was given a 10-year suspended sentence and five years’ probation for causing a car crash that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl in downtown St. Louis at 2:30 a.m. on August 17, 2020.


Ramsey pleaded guilty last July to one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Sierra Rubymae Ward-Micke, 17. She had been riding in the open bed of Ramsey’s pickup truck with three other teenagers and was ejected during the collision. Another teenager suffered serious injuries.


Ramsey was driving eastbound on Washington Avenue at about 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit when he ran a red light and collided with a southbound pickup truck at 10th Street.


Circuit Judge Thomas McCarthy’s sentence included 60 days of jail time that Ramsey has already served. If Ramsey violates his probation, he could go to prison for up to 10 years. The Circuit Attorney’s Office had recommended a sentence of seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.


The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Christopher Faerber.

                    ###


For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Amber Raub

Public Information Officer

St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

rauba@stlouiscao.org

314-589-6233 (office)

314-312-9912 (cell)

More News

January 9, 2026
ST. LOUIS, MO (January 09, 2026) — On Friday, a jury found Terron Young, 34, guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon in the killing of 32-year-old Anthony Jefferson. On February 2, 2024, Jefferson was shot outside an event space in the 4700 block of Martin Luther King Drive in St. Louis. Officers responded to a report of a shooting outside the club, where Jefferson was found suffering from gunshot wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries. Through a coordinated investigation led by SLMPD Homicide Detectives, with assistance from FBI task force officers, investigators determined that it was a targeted shooting. Young and Jefferson were involved in an ongoing feud. On the night of the murder, Young drove to the location from which the fatal shots were fired while co-defendants arrived in a separate vehicle. Surveillance footage captured Young’s vehicle fleeing the area from which the fatal shots were fired immediately after the shooting and traveling toward a co-defendant’s residence. Investigators recovered spent cartridge casings from a field near the location from which the fatal shots were fired. During a search of the co-defendant’s residence, investigators recovered ammunition consistent with the cartridge casings found at the scene. “This outcome reflects the extensive work of our prosecutors, along with SLMPD Homicide Detectives and FBI task force officers, who investigated this complex case and presented it to the jury over the course of a week-long trial,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “As a result of an effective collaborative investigation by state and federal law enforcement, we were able to hold the defendant accountable for a cold-blooded targeted killing and obtain a measure of justice for the victim’s family.” Young faces mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. His sentencing will be set for a later date. Homicide Unit Deputy Chief Carolyn Chkautovich and Assistant Circuit Attorneys Nicholas Hirst and Ryan Dowd prosecuted the case. The defendant’s case number is 2422-CR00597-01.
Seal of the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, Missouri.
January 9, 2026
A St. Louis judge on Friday sentenced Robert Johnson, 59, to 28 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for beating his wife, Nancy Johnson, to death.
Seal of the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, featuring the state seal.
January 8, 2026
Ramon Chavez-Rodriguez, 25, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years for driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that killed 44-year-old SLMPD Officer David Lee.