Man killed while robbing drug dealer, cohorts charged

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Two men have been charged in their cohort’s death after they and others tried to rob a drug dealer at gunpoint earlier this week in Ferguson.

According to the Ferguson Police Department’s probable cause statements, the fatal shooting occurred Oct. 7. A more specific time and location were not listed.

Police said Vernon Williams and Joshua Haegele, along with a young woman and another man, identified as Ta’Von Williams by our partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , contacted Ta’Von’s cousin to purchase marijuana.

The foursome drove to the cousin’s home and waited in the parked vehicle. Police said when the cousin came outside and made contact, Ta’Von took out a gun, pointed it at his cousin, and told him, “You know what time it is. Give it up.”

Police said Vernon Williams and Haegele exited the car and approached a witness in the cousin’s garage and held him at gunpoint. Ta’Von led his cousin toward the garage as well.

At one point, the cousin and Ta’Von begin fighting over the gun, police said. Somehow, the cousin pulled out his own weapon, and shot Ta’Von in the head, killing him.

The cousin ran to a neighbor’s home for help as Vernon Williams and Haegele fired additional shots before fleeing.

Police said the shooting was caught on Ring surveillance video.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged both Vernon Williams and Haegele with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Both men remain jailed on bonds of $1 million, cash-only. They’re due in court for a bond reduction hearing on Oct. 16 and a preliminary hearing on Nov. 7.

The cousin has not been charged.

The Post-Dispatch reports that Haegele had been released from state prison on Sept. 30 and was on parole after serving five years in a 2019 involuntary manslaughter case when he was a teenager. Vernon Williams was also serving parole for assault and unlawful use of a weapon at the time of the murder.

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