Man Pleads Guilty to Mother’s Day Shooting
August 28, 2024

Judge Hands Down 18-Year Sentence

ST. LOUIS, MO (August 29, 2024) — Howard Mayes, 29, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Damon Hawkins, 47, on May 8, 2022, at the Minerva Place Apartment complex in the 1300 block of Montclair Avenue in the city’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood.


On the day of the shooting, several people at the apartment complex were celebrating Mother’s Day on an outdoor patio. After a brief argument, Mayes shot Hawkins multiple times in the parking lot and fled. The shooting was captured on surveillance video, but the face of the shooter was obscured by his clothing. Mayes’s mother later drove him to police headquarters where he turned himself in.


The case was prosecuted by Violent Crime Supervisor Tanja Engelhardt.


“A brief argument on a day of celebration led to a senseless killing,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “For the victim’s and the defendant’s families, Mother’s Day will always be marred by the memory of this crime.”


Circuit Judge Katherine Fowler sentenced Mayes to 15 years in prison for second-degree murder plus three years for armed criminal action.

                             ###

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.