Man arrested in Topeka on Tuesday in connection with St. Louis 2023 murder case

TOPEKA, Kansas (WIBW) – A man was behind bars in the Shawnee County Jail Wednesday after being arrested Tuesday in Topeka in connection with a 2023 murder in St. Louis, authorities said.

The man arrested was identified as Dominic Rashad Stidmon, 21, of St. Louis.

According to St. Louis County police, Stidmon was arrested Tuesday in connection with the 2023 shooting death of 22-year-old Lawrence Carr Jr. of Normandy, Missouri.

The murder is said to have occurred on March 16, 2023, at around 9:30 p.m. in the 10400 block of Monarch Drive in north St. Louis.

According to St. Louis County police, officers responded to a 911 call regarding shots fired and a ShotSpotter activation at that location.

Officials said officers found a man in a vehicle that had crashed in the front yard of a residence. The man, who suffered a gunshot wound, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

More than 17 months later, authorities said, the St. Louis County District Attorney's Office charged suspect Stidmon on August 23, 2024, with premeditated murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action.

St. Louis County Police officials said Stidmon was taken into custody in Topeka on Tuesday. He was booked into the Shawnee County Jail at 2:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Stidmon was being held without bail Wednesday in the Shawnee County Jail, where his offenses were listed as fugitive from justice, warrants out of Topeka and a pretrial detention in another state.

According to St. Louis County Police, the probable cause statement reads: “The defendant and the victim had agreed that the defendant would purchase marijuana from the victim.”

“During the transaction, the victim was shot. The victim's marijuana was stolen. The defendant was identified through phone records and was the one who had communicated with the victim to purchase the marijuana.

“The cartridge cases found at the crime scene were ballistically consistent with the cartridge cases recovered from a residence associated with the defendant.”

In a press release, St. Louis County Police officials said Topeka police “were instrumental in the arrest of Stidmon. We thank them for their cooperation in apprehending this violent criminal.”

The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Crimes Against Persons of the St. Louis County Police Department.

The Topeka Police Department referred questions to the St. Louis County Police Department.

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