Donnell Crawford

Donnell Crawford, 44, of St. Louis, was killed July 9 after attempting to break into a home on the 2800 block of Union Boulevard with two others, police said. According to police reports, Crawford, Brandon Robinson, 42, of St. Louis and Sarah Mensio, 35, of Webster Groves, were attempting to break into the home around 9:30 p.m. Two witnesses had just finished boarding the doorway because there had been multiple other break-ins recently. They saw Robinson and Mensio trying to use a screwdriver to open a locked door, according to the probable cause statement. Crawford was pulling metal out of a dumpster in a neighboring yard. The two witnesses told the three others to stay on the scene because they had called the police. As officers were arriving, Crawford fired two shots at the witnesses while running away. One of the witnesses, a 35-year-old man, returned fire and killed Crawford. Robinson and Mensio were arrested and are facing murder and burglary charges. The 35-year-old man was released, pending further investigation, police said.