Springfield police arrested a 21-year-old St. Louis man in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old Illinois man in west Springfield.
Justin L. Bartels, of St. Louis, has been charged with second-degree murder and three other felony counts in connection with the April 17 shooting death of Lavelle C. Rose III of East St. Louis, Illinois. Bond for Bartels was set at $250,000, and he remained in jail as of Wednesday afternoon.
Springfield police continue to look for a second suspect who has been connected to Rose’s death, according to a Springfield Police Department news release.
Rose was shot on the evening of April 17 while riding as a passenger in a vehicle near West Calhoun Street and North Forest Avenue. Police responded to a report of someone shot at 6:51 p.m. and found that Rose and the woman who was driving the vehicle had both been shot multiple times.
The woman was hospitalized with what police say are non-life-threatening injuries. Rose was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting.
Bartels was charged Wednesday in Greene County Circuit Court with second-degree Murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree assault, according to court records.
Bartels is also scheduled to appear in a Jefferson County courtroom in Hillsboro on May 3, in relation to two charges filed there in February. On Feb. 7, Bartles was charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon and another count of fourth-degree assault. KY3 reports Bartels was out on bond in connection with an unlawful use of a weapon charge at the time of Rose’s death.
