ST. LOUIS – A teenager who was tried as an adult for a 2020 murder in north St. Louis was sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years in state prison.

Marcus “Mojo” Ursery, 17, admitted shooting Timothy Lucas outside a local market in the 8300 block of North Broadway on Jan. 18, 2020. Both Ursery and Lucas were 14 at the time of the shooting.

Ursery pleaded guilty in May 2022 to second-degree murder, reduced from first-degree murder, and armed criminal action.


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An assistant circuit attorney requested Judge Rex Burlison hand down a 25-year sentence. Ursery’s lawyer asked the judge for the minimum 10-year term.

In the end, Judge Burlison sentenced Ursery 10 years for the murder and an additional 10 years for armed criminal action. The sentences will run consecutively.

Ursery must serve at least 85% of the sentence for murder before beginning the next term. He must then serve at least three years for armed criminal action before he’s eligible for parole.

At minimum, Ursery faces 11.5 years in prison.