COURTESY SLMPD/ Paul Sableman.
Marvin Burt Jr. pleaded to involuntary manslaughter in the 2017 MetroLink shooting.
The first of two defendants charged in the killing of a homeless man at a downtown MetroLink stop last year was sentenced Monday to twelve years in prison.
Marvin Burt Jr., twenty, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as well as assault, two counts of attempted robbery and three counts of armed criminal action. The plea was first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In March 2017, Burt and 22-year-old Warren Whitehead tried to rob a man and his adult son on the train, authorities say. Burt pistol-whipped one of the victims. The gun went off during the struggle, and a bullet blasted through the train's window, striking 57-year-old Mac Payne.
COURTESY SLMPD
Warren Whitehead's case is pending.
Payne, who was homeless, had just exited the train at the Busch Stadium stop and was walking along the platform when he was hit. He died slowly, surviving through the night and next day at the hospital before he succumbed.
Payne and Whitehead were soon identified and charged with murder. They were among a group of six that had boarded the train together, but authorities say they were the two involved in the attempted robbery.
The charges against Whitehead are still pending. His trial is due to start on June 18.
Whitehead is being held on a $750,000 cash-only bond.
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