Missouri Department of Corrections
Jason Finney had a history of arrests.
The deceased are Jason Finney and Trevlan Glass, both 31 years old.
Police believe that Finney, Glass and a third man got into an argument inside the funeral home that spilled outdoors. Once there the men drew guns and began firing at each other. The third victim is described as a 35-year-old black male who was shot multiple times and is listed in critical condition. Police have not yet released his name.
A fourth man who may have been involved and shot during the fight, fled the scene. His condition and identity is unknown.
Court documents indicate that the deceased were both involved in drugs.
Finney pleaded guilty to marijuana possession as recently as 2008. He's also pleaded guilty to trespassing in 2003, and tampering with a motor vehicle in 2006. Glass pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in 2000 and again this past March.
"The overwhelming majority of our homicides are being committed as a result of gang and drug activity," said St. Louis police chief Dan Isom in trying to explain the recent spate of violence in the city. "And while some of these people are choosing to lead these lifestyles, the fact is, they are often leading them in a neighborhood filled with people who are making no such choice....people who are hard-working, law-abiding citizens and who want their neighborhoods back."
St. Louis recorded 25 murders last month, up from 15 homicides in November 2009. The overall murder rate through yesterday, November 30, was 128 -- down slightly from the 135 homicides recorded through November in 2009.
Still, in response to the recent flare ups in violence, Isom said yesterday that he will deploy the department's Mobile Reserve Unit to the fifth and sixth police districts in north city to quell the violence.
The chief plans to ask the police board for approval to form a new police unit with a sole focus of responding to and stabilizing areas experiencing increases in violence.
