A man has been arrested and faces charges including murder in last week’s shooting death of retired St. Louis police Capt. David Dorn amid riots and looting there, officials announced Sunday.
The arrest was the result of an “extensive homicide investigation” after the June 2 murder of Dorn, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner said in a statement Sunday.
Investigators recovered surveillance footage from the business where the shooting unfolded as well as surrounding businesses in the area, Gardner added.
The suspect, Stephan Cannon, 24, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of armed criminal action, Gardner said.
Dorn, a retired police captain, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of June 2 while trying to protect his friend’s pawn shop during a night of violent protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, his widow said.
Dorn’s last moments were caught on video and apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down. He was killed by people who had broken into Lee’s Pawn & Jewelry, and his body was found on the sidewalk at about 2:30 a.m., investigators said.
His death came on a violent night in St. Louis, where four officers were shot; officers were pelted with rocks and fireworks; and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged, including a convenience store that burned. Police also shot and gravely injured a burglary suspect who they said shot at officers.
Cities across the U.S. have seen protests and violence since George Floyd died May 25 while in the custody of a white Minneapolis police officer.
Dorn was a friend of the pawn shop’s owner and frequently checked on the business when alarms went off, his wife, St. Louis police Sgt. Ann Marie Dorn, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
David Dorn served nearly 40 years on the St. Louis police force before he retired in October 2007. He then became chief of Moline Acres, a small town in St. Louis County.
Former St. Louis County police Chief Tim Fitch knew Dorn for 30 years and said they became close friends when Dorn and his wife were leading the St. Louis police department’s Explorers program for young people interested in law enforcement careers, while Fitch was leading the county’s program.
“He was very dedicated to youth, especially disadvantaged youth,” said Fitch, who led the St. Louis County Police Department from 2009 to 2014. “He wanted to see them succeed. He wanted to be a role model for those young men and women to go into law enforcement.”