The man accused of murdering the 77-year-old black retired police captain who was fatally shot during rioting in St. Louis had already been convicted of at least one felony but never served time in jail, according to a new report.
Police arrested Stephan Cannon, 24, over the weekend and charged him with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and three counts of armed criminal action as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the death of David Dorn.
Cannon was sentenced to seven years for felony robbery in 2014 but was given probation under the state’s suspended execution of sentence program and violated his probation twice but never went to jail, local television station Fox 2 reported.
Dorn, who spent more than 30 years with the St. Louis police department, was shot and killed outside a pawnshop in the city as he attempted to protect it from looters.
Police said they found a television believed to have been stolen from the pawnshop at the residence at which Cannon was taken into custody.
Since his death, tributes have been pouring in for the veteran police officer.
“Capt. Dorn was amongst other police officers that I had an opportunity to run into before even getting the opportunity to work in law enforcement,” said Officer Robert Howard of the St. Louis police. “Those were the individuals I looked up to. They wore the uniform with pride.”
Cannon is currently being held without bond.
