‘Callous and Cruel’: Victim’s family addresses 16-year-old murderer as he’s sentenced to 28 years in state prison
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - “Callous and cruel,” is how the family of a woman ambushed and shot in the face in front of her young daughter described the 16-year-old murderer during a sentencing hearing Monday in St. Louis.
DeShaun Harris, who was 15 when charged as an adult in 2023, pleaded guilty on Monday to counts of first-degree murder, attempted robbery and armed criminal action in the death of 37-year-old Kay Johnson.
As part of a plea agreement, St. Louis prosecutors dismissed a second count of armed criminal action.
Following the plea, St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Boyer sentenced Harris to 28 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Harris was ordered transferred from the juvenile facility where he was awaiting trial to the St. Louis Criminal Justice Center until his transfer to state prison.
Harris did not make a statement during the hearing. His attorney offered apologies to the victim’s family and friends, according to a 22nd Judicial Circuit Court news release.
Harris was one of two teens who tried to carjack the victim on Jan. 24, 2023, in the 4700 block of South Compton in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. His accomplice Brian Wellington, 15, was sentenced in April to 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Harris and Wellington ambushed Johnson as she opened her garage door and ordered her out of the vehicle at gunpoint. When she refused, Harris shot her in the face. Her 14-year-old daughter was in the enger seat when her mother was shot.
A friend of the victim shared memories of her during the hearing, describing her as a sweet neighbor, a hard-working colleague and a true friend. Johnson’s father read a letter from her sister that called Harris “callous and cruel” and stated the family continues to feel the loss.
“A precious life has not only been taken from us, but from the world,” Mark Johnson told the court.
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