ST. LOUIS - A man from Georgia appeared in court Wednesday on a felon in possession of ammunition charge connected to a fatal St. Louis shooting in July.
Darius T. Griffin, 31, was indicted August 3 on the charge and arrested August 10 in Georgia. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in St. Louis.
The indictment alleges that Griffin was in possession of ammunition on July 21, 2022. A detention motion alleges that Griffin was in town that day from Georgia to ambush a man identified in court documents as “V.J.," a suspect in a shooting of a Griffin relative.
Griffin waited outside a market in the 1000 block of North Kingshighway Boulevard, then chased the victim down an alley, firing a semi-automatic rifle, the detention motions says. The chase and shooting were captured on surveillance video.
The ammunition charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
