Keith Esters & Johnathan Perkins Charged in Brentwood Kidnapping

Keith Esters (left) and Johnathan Perkins (right).
Keith Esters (left) and Johnathan Perkins (right).
Keith Esters and Johnathan Perkins, already charged with murder in the death of former SLU volleyball player Megan Boken, were yesterday charged with armed robbery and felonious restraint for their part in a crime that took place August 12 in Brentwood.

In the Brentwood robbery, Esters and Perkins allegedly demanded money from a woman in the parking lot of the Brentwood Square shopping center on a busy afternoon. They forced the victim to drive to an ATM and withdraw more cash, then had her return them to the parking lot before fleeing with the money and the woman's cell phone.

Police say it was the cell phone that was their eventual undoing. 

Brentwood police traced the stolen phone's calls, which lead them to a street in Bel-Ridge. When city police apprehended Esters and Perkins for Boken's murder, Brentwood police contacted them to compare notes on their markedly similar crimes. 

Esters and Perkins are being held on a cash-only bond of $200,000 for the Brentwood robbery. They have both admitted playing a part in the murder case.