St. Louis man convicted in 2021 Bevo murder

FILE – St. Louis City Circuit Court (aka Carnahan Courthouse)

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man reached a plea deal with city prosecutors and avoided going to trial next week for a fatal 2021 shooting in the city's Bevo neighborhood.

On Wednesday, Anthony D. Brown, 33, appeared in St. Louis City Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, armed criminal action and two counts of assault with first degree.

Brown admitted to shooting William T. Cooper, 30, in the 4600 block of Gravois Avenue on April 5, 2021.

Prosecutors changed a first-degree murder charge to voluntary manslaughter and dismissed other crimes in exchange for Brown's guilty pleas.

Before sentencing, Cooper's mother told the court that her family was “broken” and expressed her displeasure with the plea deal. The circuit court judge overseeing the case asked her if the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office had contacted her about the plea deal. She said a prosecutor called her the day before.

After attorneys gathered and spoke with Cooper's mother, the judge accepted the plea deal and sentenced Brown to 13 years in state prison.

Cooper's mother told the court she planned to attend each of Brown's parole hearings.

“This gun violence must stop,” she said.