Overland teen certified as adult to stand trial in fatal carjacking
ST. LOUIS – An Overland teen will stand trial as an adult for a 2023 fatal carjacking in south St. Louis City.
On Wednesday, St. Louis police arrested Brian Wellington, 14, for the murder of Kay Johnson.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Wellington with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action. Wellington remains in custody without bond.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, Johnson was shot and killed just before 7 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2023, outside her home in the 4700 block of South Compton Avenue in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.
Johnson and her daughter had returned home and were parking in the family garage when they were beset by three teenagers.
The teenagers had arrived in a 2019 Nissan sedan, which had been stolen in a prior carjacking.
Police claim Wellington approached the driver’s side door while Deshaun Harris went to the passenger door. Both teens were armed.
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Police claim Wellington and Harris ordered Johnson out of the car. Wellington shot Johnson in the face after she didn’t immediately exit the vehicle.
Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 38.
In the immediate aftermath of Johnson’s death, a St. Louis police task force stated their belief that the same group of individuals were responsible for a series of carjackings, attempted carjackings, and robberies over a three-day period.
Harris was arrested days after Johnson’s death. The third teenager involved was arrested in February 2023.
Harris was certified to stand trial as an adult in December 2023 and faces the same charges as Wellington.
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