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.

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