There’s a tragic twist to the story about a Missouri woman who took the law into her own hands when she shot and killed a carjacker.
Police say Demesha Coleman, 35, and an unidentified man, tracked down her stolen Hyundai Tucson at a St. Louis gas station on Wednesday night. She approached the vehicle, opened the car door and fatally shot 19-year-old Darius Jackson, who was inside.
Two innocent bystanders were also shot. One of them, Joseph Farrar, 49, died at the scene, according to KSDK.
When officers arrived, they found Jackson lying next to the Tucson and Farrar lying next to one of the gas pumps. Both had been shot in the torso.
A third man was found on the far side of the gas station with a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover.
Farrar’s grieving sister told 5 On Your Side her brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Michelle Jackson said Farrar went out to get medicine for his 11-year-old son, Joseph Farrar Jr., who had been diagnosed with the flu. The grocery store was closed, so he went to the gas station hoping to find flu medicine there and to fill up his tank.
“My brother is dead because of somebody else’s mess,” said Jackson.
Farrar’s sister said she isn’t mad at Coleman.
“I wish I wish that she would have contacted the authorities, but I understand,” Jackson said. “I will be more mad with the guys that stole her car to put her in this situation because we’re all just one decision away from something like that, making the wrong choice. Because when things happen, we don’t always think, it’s just a reaction. And so I’m not mad with her.”
Coleman was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of 1st-degree murder, one count of assault and three counts of armed criminal action.
Judge Craig Higgins ordered her held without bail. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Coleman told detectives that she went to the gas station to retrieve her stolen car. She had no prior criminal history, according to Fox News.
Police say thefts of Kias and Hyundais have skyrocketed, mainly due to viral TikTok videos that demonstrate how to easily hotwire the cars using a USB.
The thefts have resulted in a flurry of multi-state lawsuits against Kia.
“They’re very easy unfortunately to steal,” Buffalo Police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said in October in reference to the deaths of four teenagers who crashed a stolen Kia Sportage in upstate New York.
“You can look up the information that’s been put out there,” Gramaglia told The Independent. “There are numerous cities across the country that are looking at looking into or have filed lawsuits against Kia because of the ease that they are able to steal these cars.”
