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Levi Henning, 21, was shot and killed Thursday outside of his home in the city’s West End neighborhood. (Credit: Family)
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man said Friday he took matters into his own hands last year after city prosecutors dismissed charges against the man accused of shooting and killing his sister.
He shot and killed the man himself.
Jacorren Riley, 26, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting and killing 21-year-old Levi Henning last June outside of his home in the 5600 block of Bartmer Avenue.
Months earlier, prosecutors in St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner’s office dismissed a murder charge against Henning in the death of Riley’s sister, 18-year-old Carieal Doss.
It was one of thousands of cases dropped under Gardner’s tenure due to understaffing and organizational dysfunction. Prosecutors had failed to turn over key evidence, and Riley’s mother found out about the dismissal from a TV report, she said last year.
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“He killed my sister,” Riley said in court Friday. “And I felt like she didn’t receive justice.”
On Friday, prosecutor Mary Pat Carl delivered a statement on behalf of Henning’s father: He held no animosity for Riley.
“Both of these families experienced great pain these last couple of years,” Carl said.
Henning’s lawyer, David Mueller, said last year he believed in his client’s innocence.
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Jacorren Riley, right, joins his mother Johnetta Doss and their family at a memorial for his sister Carieal Doss held at Anthony's Place in north St. Louis County on Friday, April 28, 2023. After charges against Levi Henning, a suspect in Carieal's murder, were dropped, Riley has been charged with killing Henning. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Doss died on April 14, 2020, after leaving her grandmother’s house to meet a fellow teen in a parking lot at 2838 Franklin Avenue in the city’s Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. She was found hours later, shot in the back of the head.
Henning was charged nearly a year later with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action. But the case dragged on for years. Prosecutors, saddled with massive caseloads, failed to turn over key evidence including a DNA report, Facebook messages and other information from police.
The charges were eventually dismissed.
Gardner resigned in May 2023, and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore took over. Doss’ mother said she hoped they would reopen the case, and prosecutors said they were working on it.
But Henning also had a separate robbery case. And last June, he was getting ready to head to court, where prosecutors planned to dismiss the charges, when a man in dark clothing appeared, chased Henning and shot him, police said.
Riley was charged a month later with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Henning’s death.
He was set to face trial next week, but he instead pleaded guilty Friday to reduced charges.
Riley said he “blacked out” with rage that day. He believed police had enough evidence to convict Henning of his sister’s murder, and he wanted the case tried.
But Judge Annette Llewellyn said Riley had gambled with his own life. First-degree murder carries a penalty of life in prison without parole, and even now, he could spend a decade in prison away from his children and family.
“Was it worth it?” Llewellyn asked.
“No ma’am,” Riley said. “If I could take it all back, I would.”
Johnetta Doss' daughter Carieal was murdered more than three years ago. A man was arrested and charged a month later. Now prosecutors have dropped the case. Video by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com