ST. LOUIS (AP) - Prosecutors dropped murder and other charges against two men accused in the 2019 killing of a man in Kinloch, Missouri, over the theft of lawn equipment.
Charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action were dismissed against Joshua Easley, 37, of Berkeley, and Antonio L. Taylor, also 37, of rural St. Louis County, in connection to the shooting death of Gary Flemings.
One count of auto tampering remains pending against Easley for allegedly driving a stolen Toyota Rav4. Several drug and gun charges are still pending against Taylor, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Chris King, a spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, told the newspaper that charges were dismissed because a key witness invoked his right against self-incrimination. King said that because there is not statute of limitations for murder, “we hope to gather more evidence and proceed at a later date.”
Taylor’s lawyer could not be reached. Easley’s lawyer, Jeff Ernst, said prosecutors lacked evidence against his client.
“As a former prosecutor, when I got this case I could tell from the beginning that it had no merit,” Ernst said.
Flemings, 40, of Berkeley, was found fatally shot Sept. 28, 2019, in a vacant home in Kinloch.
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