Three charged in connection with teen's death

The ex-boyfriend of a Cape Girardeau teenage girl has been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, felony assault and resisting arrest following a shooting Tuesday, Feb. 27, near CVS pharmacy, 2161 William St.

Zhamius Smith

Prosecutors filed charges against Tre’marion Jones, 20, who they believe killed a 17-year-old girl and injured a 53-year-old construction worker who was working nearby.

Yaunique Cain

The deceased victim has been widely reported as KeMari Childress.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, signed by an officer whose name is redacted, officers learned that the victim was leaving work, and had argued with subjects inside a red vehicle. Police say Jones was in the vehicle.

According to the affidavit, the officer alleges that after the verbal dispute, "the surveillance video shows the juvenile enter her own vehicle and attempt to leave the business”, which was CVS. “Jones is then seen on video exiting the driver’s side of the red vehicle. Jones begins to shoot at the juvenile’s vehicle.”

Probable-cause documents state that witnesses saw the victim get out of her car and try to run away from the shooter when she was struck in the head and collapsed to the ground. Jones got back in his car and sped off from the scene, the report says.

One of the individuals in the car told police he saw Jones shoot the victim, the officer wrote. Later, Jones admitted to shooting the victim, according to the probable-cause statement. According to the document, Jones told police he was only firing because someone else was shooting at him. The probable-cause statement says no evidence, including surveillance video, supported that claim.

Police collected six spent casings from a .40 caliber firearm.

The prosecuting attorney’s office also charged Zhamius Smith, 20, of Caruthersville with hindering prosecution and resisting a lawful stop and Yaunique Cain, 21, of Cape Girardeau with tampering with physical evidence. All three suspects are being held in custody on a no-bond warrant.

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad was activated following the shooting Tuesday. The Major Case squad is a multi-jurisdictional team of officers and detectives that can be activated following homicides to give such cases extra investigative resources.

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Major Case Squad identified the person of interest and vehicle. Officers located the vehicle and tried to make a traffic stop near Woodbine Place and Themis Street. The vehicle led police on a short pursuit before three individuals ran from the car. Police were able to apprehend Jones and Smith. Cain escaped temporarily, but was arrested a short time later, according to a probable-cause statement issued with her arrest. Police say Cain, about 10 minutes after the shooting, returned to the crime scene, reaching beyond the area cordoned off by police tape to retrieve a cellphone from the ground. After initially telling police the phone she went to retrieve was hers, she later admitted the phone belonged to Jones. She told police that Jones used a small black handgun that he had been carrying with him all day, the probable-cause statement says. The probable-cause statement said police believe Cain retrieved the phone to prevent officers from collecting it as evidence.

The Major Case Squad requests that anyone with information about the shooting contact the Cape Girardeau Police Department at (573) 339-6621 or text "CAPEPD" to 847411.