ST. LOUIS — A second man was charged Tuesday in last month’s killing of 15-year-old Sentonio Cox in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Prosecutors charged Brian Lee Potter, 47, of the 7100 block of Vermont Avenue, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Sentonio is among more than a dozen children or teens 17 and younger killed in ºüÀêÊÓƵ since April, more than double the number killed last year. Six children have died of gunshot wounds in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County this year.
Late last month, prosecutors accused Joseph Renick, 54, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, of shooting Cox on Aug. 25 in the 7300 block of Vermont Avenue as the teen was backing away with his hands raised. Sentonio died of a gunshot wound to the head.
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Potter and Renick are the only suspects to be charged thus far in connection with the shooting deaths of children this year in the city.
Charging documents in Potter’s case say Potter and Renick emerged from a home in that block “to confront Sentonio Cox†and another person identified only by initials. The person with Sentonio ran.
“Defendant aggressively walked towards Sentonio Cox, forcing Sentonio Cox across the street, up a hill and into a vacant lot,†wrote Detective Thomas Mayer Sr. in a probable cause statement.
Renick was behind Potter as they approached the teen, whose “hands were raised as he backed away from†the men. Potter told Renick to “shoot this piece of (expletive).â€
Renick then fatally shot the teen, charges say.
Court records say Potter has a felony 1995 conviction of assault in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. He also has convictions for illegal drug possession in ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 2004, 2007 and 2008. Potter pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession in 2010 in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County and received a two-year prison term. He also pleaded guilty in 2010 in federal court in ºüÀêÊÓƵ to being a felon in possession of a gun and received a 30-month prison term.
Potter has pending charges in Jefferson County of driving on a revoked license, and drug and paraphernalia possession, court documents say. Those charges say that on Oct. 19, 2017, a sheriff’s deputy who stopped Potter near Arnold saw him toss a pill bottle out the window of his pickup truck. Court documents say lab tests revealed 28 pills of Xanax inside the bottle. Deputies said they also found marijuana stuffed in a black cologne box in his truck and methamphetamine in a clear plastic bag on Potter.
Potter also has a pending 2017 case of failing to pay child support in St. Francois County. Those charges say he was behind more than $13,800 in child support.
Potter was ordered held without bail. Renick remains jailed on a $500,000 cash bail.
Coverage of children who died in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area in 2019
These are the local incidents of homicide or neglect involving children, based on Post-Dispatch reporting. This list doesn't include children killed in car accidents (unless a criminal charge was filed) or incidents not being investigated by homicide detectives.
A body that was found over the weekend in the parking lot of an East ºüÀêÊÓƵ middle school was identified Monday as that of a 13-year-old boy.
Police in Ferguson found two teen boys, ages 15 and 16, who both had been shot, inside a vehicle about 12:45 p.m. The older teen was seriously…
Sylvester Knighten Jr., 31, and the boy’s mother Danesha Cannamore, 31, were both arrested when police responded Wednesday to a call for an un…
The father of a 2-year-old girl killed in an accidental shooting in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County this week is accused of leaving a loaded gun in a d…
Caleb Smith, was gunned down Wednesday in an alley in the 8300 block of Strathmore Place.
At 9:20 a.m., East St Louis police drove to the John de Shields Housing Complex, 1235 McCasland Avenue, after reports of a shooting.Â
Tavares Chisholm, 4, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, was hit and killed by a car as his mother pushed him and a 2-year-old in a stroller. A 27-year-old was char…
A 15-year-old boy was gunned down before sunup when someone fired a flurry of shots into a home in the north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County area of Glasgow …
The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday near the 11100 block of Oak Parkway Lane, as the teen walked through an apartment complex …
A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself after finding a gun in the Laurel Park apartments north of Jennings, police said.
He was found shot in the head just before 6 a.m. in the 7300 block of Vermont Avenue in the Carondelet neighborhood of south ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Police confirmed that a 10-year-old girl was among three people killed on the 700 block of North 21st Street around 6:30 p.m. The other victim…
Mayor Lyda Krewson urged tipsters to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. The usual reward is up to $5,000 for helpful tips.
The shooting occurred about a block north of Soldan High School, where a football exhibition was held Friday night. Fights broke out at the ev…
The mayhem has left brass begging for leads, politicians promising change, and parents at wits’ end: frustrated by lackluster investigations, …
Officers found Jason Eberhart Jr. dead in a parking lot in the 1300 block of Hogan Street around 2 a.m. Police said he was shot several times.Â
Taylor Jordan Baumer, 20, of the 1000 block of Adworth Drive in Mehlville, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child in the fir…
The day before he was to start as a second grader at Clay Elementary, Xavier Usanga was fatally shot while standing near an 18-year-old who wa…
He was inside an apartment with a group of teenagers when he was shot. He was found dead soon after.
Eddie was shot about 8:30 p.m. at a home in the 4700 block of Page Boulevard near the intersection with Marcus Avenue, police said. He was sit…
Was found shot to death inside a vehicle at a gas station at 4355 South Broadway; a 16-year-old in the car was not injured.
Robert Michael “R.J.â€Â Dorsey, was shot about 9:15 p.m. in the 800 block of Vegas Drive, in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ County. He was shot in the torso an…
Two teens and one adult were shot about 7:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Fourth Street in Madison. One of the teenagers died of his wounds.
Police found him lying in the street about 3 a.m. Tuesday with multiple gunshot wounds in the 44000 block of Cupples Place. He died the next day.
Michael Henderson Jr., 15, of Centreville was shot in the 800 block of East 15th Street. Police responded to the scene at 2:37 p.m.Â
Myiesha Cannon, 16, was shot in the head about 1:25 a.m. in the 4400 block of Lexington Avenue. Police have labeled the shooting as a "suspici…
Police are labeling the case a "suspicious death" and released no additional details. Her mother said she found a 9 mm pistol and accidentally…
Kennedi Powell and her neighborhood friends had just swarmed her father’s car for a piece of pizza Sunday evening when a white car drove past,…
Jashon Johnson, of the 2700 block of Allen Avenue, was shot several times near Red Bud and Margaretta, police said.
The parents of a baby girl who died last week after being left inside a hot car in Calverton Park were charged with manslaughter Monday.
Kristina Curry, 16, was found dead just before 5 a.m. Thursday on a rear parking lot at Roosevelt High School at 3230 Hartford Street, police said.Â
Jaylon McKenzie, 14, an eighth grader at Mason-Clark Middle School in East ºüÀêÊÓƵ who was featured in Sports Illustrated as one of six youn…
A St. John woman left three young children alone for several hours and came home to find her 4-month-old son dead, prosecutors say. She was ch…
Kayden Johnson, 2, and his mother Trina’ty Riley, 18, were found dead with gunshot wounds shortly before midnight in their home in the 5900 bl…
Curtis Marshall, 15, was the victim of a targeted shooting in the 1700 block of Cargill Drive, police said.Â
Police initially called the shooting a "suspicious death," but later said they had concluded Evione accidentally shot himself in the 1700 bloc…
Malik Moore, 17, was shot in the 100 block of Chambers Road about 2:50 p.m., authorities said. He lived on the same block, just west of Riverv…
Demarco Washington, 32, of the 10700 block of Spring Garden Drive in the Glasgow Village area, was charged with a felony count of child endang…
Elijah Roby, 2, died in a car accident. His mother, Ebony Roby, 25, was charged with first-degree child endangerment in connection with the case.