Murder in McDonald's Parking Lot Gets St. Louis Man 25 Years

Prosecutors say that the killing was over stolen fentanyl

Nov 30, 2022 at 1:56 pm

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Ryan Krull

McDonald's on Hampton Avenue where police say one employee shot and killed another Tuesday.

A St. Louis County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison today for a retaliatory drug murder committed in a McDonald's parking lot two years ago.

Cevone Weeden, now 26, fired 12 shots at Joel Phillips, 22, killing him on August 20, 2020.

The murder took place outside of the McDonald's at 1420 Hampton Avenue in the Clayton-Tamm neighborhood.

Two days prior to the murder, Phillips had setup a purchase of fentanyl from Weeden. However, Phillips instead robbed Weeden of the drugs and then subsequently blocked his phone number.

After getting robbed, Weeden then "enlisted another person to call Phillips and arrange to buy fentanyl to lure Phillips out into the open so Weeden could retaliate," according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

On the day of the murder, Herschell Perkins, 37, drove Weeden to a gas station near near the McDonald's on Hampton, where Phillips was parked. Court documents say that Weeden and Perkins surveilled Phillips for nearly two hours, waiting for him to leave.

When Phillips didn't leave the McDonald's parking lot, Weeden "walked across the street, and fired numerous rounds into [Phillips'] vehicle, hitting him multiple times. [Phillips] died on the scene, slumped over in the driver’s seat of his vehicle."

Police also found in the car with Phillips a gun, a phone, more than $1,800 in cash and 156 capsules containing fentanyl — the same fentanyl purportedly stolen from Weeden.

Phillips' family and friends submitted numerous letters to the court prior to Weeden's sentencing.

One family member recounted having to gather Phillips' possessions from the car he was killed in. "I had to see all the bullet holes on the driver's side door, and to see his blood in the front seat, those images will never leave my memory bank," the family member wrote.

Another family member called Weeden's plan "diabolical."

On November 2, Perkins, who drove Weeden to the crime, was sentenced for his role in the killing to 15 years in prison.

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