ST. LOUIS, MO  (June 30, 2026) — Jvonta Johnson, 25, was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm for the January 2025 killing of 25-year-old Deandre Pickens in the 3500 block of Harper Street in the City of St. Louis.

On January 15, 2025, officers responded to a shooting near North Grand Boulevard and Natural Bridge Avenue, where they found Pickens with a gunshot wound. He later died. Surveillance video showed Johnson waiting in the back seat of Pickens' Nissan as two co-defendants approached the vehicle. One co-defendant reached through the passenger window while the other co-defendant stood at the driver's side. When Pickens tried to get out, a co-defendant shot him. Johnson then climbed into the driver's seat and drove away in Pickens' car while the co-defendants fled in a red Infiniti. Video later captured the two vehicles meeting at Harper Street and Garrison Avenue, where Johnson handed Pickens' stolen firearm to a co-defendant. Johnson admitted he helped plan the robbery the night before and said the group's goal was to steal Pickens' firearm.

"This defendant planned a robbery that ended in the loss of a young man's life," said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. "This successful investigation resulted from collaboration between the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Division and the FBI. As a result of the great work of the homicide division and the FBI, our prosecutors were able to secure this conviction and hold the defendant accountable for his role in the murder of Mr. Pickens."

Johnson has prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree tampering, resisting arrest creating a substantial risk, and a federal drug offense.

Deputy Chief of Homicide Carolyn Chkautovich, Assistant Circuit Attorney Paris Bateman, and Assistant Circuit Attorney Andrew Bennett prosecuted the case.

The defendant's case number is 2522-CR00785-01.