ST. LOUIS, MO – On August 25, a man from St. Louis admitted that he killed a 2-year-old child and injured other people. Leon Russell pled guilty in St. Louis County Circuit Court to running from police, driving a stolen car while his license was suspended, and assault.
On April 22, 2022, near West Florissant Avenue and Hudson Road, St. Louis County Police officers tried to stop him while he was driving a stolen car with a suspended license.
The car he was driving had just been carjacked in St. Louis. He drove away from the police, avoiding the spike strips and going very fast. He went the wrong way down the road, joined traffic going the other way, ran red lights, and didn’t stop at stop signs.
He got off westbound Interstate 270 at Florissant Road and hit a car that had stopped to make a turn while he was going over 90 mph. The people inside, a woman and her two-year-old child, were hurt very badly. The mother is paralyzed now, and she was burned over 80% of her body, due to the accident. Jace Richardson, the child, died. After hitting them, Russell lost control of his car and hit another car, causing serious injuries to another victim.
The office of the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County suggested a 25-year prison term. The court has set the sentencing date for August 31 to give the victims’ extended families enough time to come to court.