On the morning of Friday, January 4, 2019, 32-year-old Talmadge Smith was shot in the face inside the T & R Pit Stop, an auto repair shop he managed on St. Charles Rock Road in St. Ann, Missouri. The attack happened at about 9 a.m.; Smith was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition but died of his injuries.

St. Ann police, who had been called to that business several times before for drug-related incidents, found a stolen car on the shop lot and other indications of illegal activity. Investigators said they believed Smith was not the intended target and began probing a wider web of stolen vehicles and possible racketeering tied to the business.

Police later identified a vehicle wanted in the murder, and a high-speed chase reached speeds up to 110 miles per hour before ending on Goode Avenue in North St. Louis City. Two occupants abandoned the car; a male was caught by St. Louis city officers and a female was located inside a nearby house and arrested by St. Ann police. Both were initially booked for felony fleeing and were also wanted in connection with Smith’s murder, though names and specific murder charges were not widely reported in initial follow-up coverage.

If anyone has information about activity at the T & R Pit Stop or about the vehicle involved that morning, please share what is known.