CLAYTON, Mo. – A St. Louis County jury convicted a man last week on eight felonies for the murder of two men in 2018, one of whom was a bystander struck by a stray bullet.
The crime occurred around 12:25 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2018, at the intersection of Fay and Canyon drives.
Berkeley police responded to a reported shooting and found Frank Langston suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower body. Langston, a utility contractor who was driving in his truck when he’d been shot, was taken to a local hospital. He died the following day. Langston was 55.
A second victim was located at an area hospital the day of the shooting.
Police found William Dortch, of St. Ann, inside a vehicle near the intersection after someone fired shots into the car. He was brought to the hospital by another person inside the vehicle. Dortch was later pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 27.
Investigators determined Langston and Dortch were victims of the same shooting.
Homicide detectives with the St. Louis County Police Department learned Lonnell Lewis-Jones was called to intervene in a dispute between his ex-girlfriend and another woman over a parking space.
When he arrived, Lewis-Jones threatened two women and Dortch. As the women and Dortch attempted to drive away, Lewis-Jones and his brother took out guns and fired more than 30 shots at the vehicle.
One of the bullets struck Langston, who was half a block away at the time.
Jurors convicted Lewis-Jones of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree assault, and four counts of armed criminal action.
Lewis-Jones will be sentenced on the morning of Aug. 11.
“It has been a long five years for the families affected by these senseless murders, all over a parking spot dispute,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said.