Two men plead guilty to 2018 murder and assault cases

street. LOUIS — Two men reached an agreement with the St. Louis District Attorney’s office Thursday in connection with a 2018 shooting that left a woman dead and a man seriously injured.

William Pearson Jr., 26, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the January 30, 2018 murder of Gina Clements. The shooting took place at the 5300 block of Claxton Street in the Mark Twain neighborhood.

Pearson was accused of shooting Clements and a man while they were sitting in a car. Clements was 42.

Prosecutors initially charged Pearson with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, and two counts of tampering with evidence.

Meanwhile, Therese Cook Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in the shooting of a woman on January 26, 2018. This crime occurred at the 5900 block of Lillian Street, in the Walnut Park West neighborhood.

The trials for the two men were scheduled to begin on June 20.

A St. Louis circuit court judge approved the plea bargains after learning from the district attorney that the victims’ families had agreed to the sentences.

Pearson was sentenced to 10 years in prison, including more than five years of time served. Cook was sentenced to five years in prison, but will be released because he was imprisoned for more than five years in this and other cases.

Last year, Pearson, Cook and a third person were tried and acquitted in connection with the 2017 murder of James Scales, 16.

Scales witnessed the shooting of Dwayne Clanton Jr., 18, in 2016.

The fourth man in that trial, Keith Graham, 25, was found guilty of witness tampering and conspiracy to commit murder. Graham was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Pearson has also been charged with killing Leon Smith Jr., 21, and injuring a woman in November 2017. A murder trial was scheduled for November 2022, but the district attorney’s office dropped the case on the eve of trial.