St. Louis Apartment Manager Charged with Murdering Trespasser

Shane Richmond found a couple in a vacant unit of the Carondelet building and shot the man dead, police say

Nov 21, 2023 at 12:57 pm

Courtesy SLMPD

Booking photo for Shane Richmond, 48.

A south St. Louis property manager is facing murder charges after fatally shooting a man who allegedly broke into one of the units in an apartment building he managed.

According to a police probable cause statement, Shane C. Richmond, 48, is the manager for several connected apartment buildings on South Broadway, across from Bellerive Park in the Carondelet neighborhood, and lives in one of the units himself. A little after 3 a.m. this morning, he heard a noise coming from one of the vacant units, and went to investigate armed with a shotgun.

Richmond told police he noticed that the window of one of the units was broken and, upon entering the unit, found a man and a woman inside. The man was "kneeling sideways by a bench with his hands up,” Richmond told police.

However, at this point, the stories told by the woman in the apartment and Richmond diverge, police say.

Richmond told police that the man stood up, put his hands in his pockets and began moving toward Richmond while making "aggressive comments." At that point, Richmond said he shot the man in self-defense. Police have not identified the victim beyond saying he is a 36-year-old Black male.

The woman in the room told police a different version of events. She said that the 36-year-old never stood up and that Richmond shot him "immediately."

Police say the victim was shot in the side, which they say would not be consistent with him approaching Richmond when the property manager fired.

Richmond told police that he had loaded his shotgun in such a way so that the first shot would fire rubber bullets and the second real ammunition. However, police say there is no evidence that Richmond fired more than once and it was real bullets that killed the 36-year-old.

According to police, Richmond, "does not say, nor is there any evidence, victim was actually in possession of a weapon."

A judge has ordered for Richmond to be held in jail without bond.

In addition to the murder charge, Richmond is facing one felony count of armed criminal action.