ST. LOUIS, MO (September 24, 2024) — Darius Jamar Meeks, 35, pleaded guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the April 19, 2021, shooting death of Anthony Bruce, 31, in the 4500 block of McMillan Avenue in the city’s Lewis Place neighborhood.

Meeks and Bruce, who had been friends since they were teenagers, had been partying at various clubs in Illinois the night before the shooting. They returned to Bruce’s home in the early hours of April 19 with two women they had met at a club. The two men got into an argument, during which Bruce punched Meeks in the face. Meeks ran out through a rear door to Bruce’s home to get to his car while Bruce chased him holding a piece of a brick. While Meeks was trying to leave in his car, Bruce ran along the passenger’s side and held on to the vehicle. Meeks then lowered the passenger side window and shot Bruce twice.

Meeks drove away, ran a red light, crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Manchester and Tower Grove avenues, abandoned his car and fled on foot. Three days later, he went to a police station and admitted shooting Bruce. Both the shooting and the car accident were captured on video.

Meeks was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant Circuit Attorney Terrence J. O’Toole Jr., a partner with the law firm of Dowd Bennett LLP, and Assistant Circuit Attorney Jamie Myers Huq.

Meeks’ case number is 2122-CR00757-01.

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