Teenager to be tried as adult for Ferguson murder in 2023

FILE – A courtroom inside St. Louis County's 21st Judicial Circuit Court.

CLAYTON, Mo. – A juvenile will be tried as an adult for a 2023 homicide in Ferguson, St. Louis County Family Court ruled Thursday.

According to probable cause from the St. Louis County Police Department, the shooting occurred just after 8:40 p.m. on August 28, 2023, near the intersection of Glen Owen and Bahama streets. Officers responded to a ShotSpotter notification in the area and found the victim, Frederick Gett, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Gett was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and died. He was 45 years old.

A little more than two weeks later, investigators arrested Jerry Watkins and a 17-year-old in connection with the shooting.

The St. Louis County District Attorney's Office charged Watkins with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, attempted first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Watkins was initially being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. However, that cash-only bail was reduced in January 2024 to $500,000. Watkins remains imprisoned.

The 17-year-old, identified as Kamrin Starks, was charged in family court and held in custody.

Police and prosecutors say Starks and Watkins committed an armed robbery on Aug. 27, stealing money from a victim as she left her home. The next day, Watkins and Starks detained Jett and another victim. During this robbery, Watkins allegedly shot and killed Jett.

On June 6, 2024, after the family court determined that Starks could be tried as an adult, county prosecutors charged the teen with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, attempted first degree robbery and armed criminal action. Starks is being held on $1 million cash-only bail.