Bobby Joe Langston was a 45-year-old father and grandfather. Born in Houston, Texas, he was the son of Randall Langston and the late Mary Darlene Harmon. He had two sons, three daughters, and one grandchild, as well as two brothers and a sister.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 31, 2022, Langston’s life was cut short by gun violence in Lebanon, Missouri. Officers with the Lebanon Police Department responded to a call around noon at a residence in the 1100 block of West Elm Street. Inside, they discovered Langston, who had been fatally shot. Investigators later stated that an argument had led to the shooting.
At the scene, police arrested a suspect without incident. The man was identified as Kevin James Ash, the victim’s 33-year-old stepbrother. The police chief described the killing as an isolated incident and said there was no further danger to the community.
Ash was booked into the Laclede County Jail and ordered to be held without bond.
Prosecutors subsequently charged Kevin Ash with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with his stepbrother's death. In December 2022, Ash appeared in Laclede County Court, where he entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and waived his formal arraignment. The case was pending further legal proceedings as of that month.
