U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Tuesday sentenced a man who claimed the $10,000 bounty for a 2017 murder to nine years in prison.
Delvin Bost, 28, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He admitted calling to confirm that a bounty was still in place for Kevin Davis Jr. and then accepting the money after the fatal shooting of Davis, 24, on June 30, 2017, in the 1900 block of Belt Avenue in St. Louis. Bost said he then paid Michael “Beezy” Johnson. A witness told investigators that Johnson fired 25 shots at Davis Jr. after chasing him down the street.
On August 1, Judge White sentenced Johnson, 30, to 18 years in prison.
Both Bost and Johnson were involved in a narcotics conspiracy led by Maurice Herbert Lee II, 35, who had placed a bounty of between $5,000 and $15,000 on any rival gang members or drug dealers.
Lee pleaded guilty on May 2 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. In his guilty plea, Lee admitted to offering and paying the bounty for the killing of two different men. In addition to Kevin Davis, Lee admitted that another fatal shooting occurred in furtherance of the drug conspiracy, that of Alexander Noodel on May 8, 2017.
Lee is scheduled to be sentenced on September 7.
Bost also admitted to selling drugs on Facebook and being caught with methamphetamine on Feb. 11, 2019. Judge White ordered Bost to pay more than $16,000 in restitution to the victim’s family.
In all, 17 defendants were charged and all pleaded guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul D’Agrosa and Mohsen Pasha are prosecuting the case.
