Charges filed in Independence Day holiday shooting in Tower Grove South

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - St. Louis prosecutors on Tuesday filed murder and assault charges in a shooting during the Independence Day holiday which left one person dead and another injured in the Tower Grove South neighborhood.

Court records show 38-year-old Clayton P. Davis, of St. Louis, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Wade Featherston of Salem, Illinois. He is also charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of a female victim in the same incident.

A no-bond warrant has been issued for the arrest of Davis, who is currently in custody on federal charges, according to docket entries in the federal case.

According to charging documents in the homicide case, St. Louis Police stated officers responded shortly after midnight July 5 to reports of a shooting in progress in the 4100 block of Chippewa Street. At the scene they found Featherston dead, and a female victim shot and seriously injured.

The female victim told police Davis was the shooter, according to charging documents. Officers also obtained video surveillance from the scene, which allegedly corroborated her story. Police stated Davis fled the state following the shooting.

While the complaint in the federal case remains sealed, on July 27 Davis was charged with felon in possession of ammunition. In a motion to detain him pending trial, federal prosecutors wrote St. Louis Police collected 12 shell casings from the crime scene where Featherston was killed, which were determined to have been fired from the same gun.

The motion to detain states that following the shooting, Davis fled to Georgia, where he is originally from and has convictions for felony dog fighting and robbery. He also has prior convictions in Missouri for felony theft and assault.

After fleeing St. Louis to Georgia, authorities tracked his cellphone and using location technology, found Davis on Aug. 3 in Indiana, where he was arrested.

Trial dates in both the federal and St. Louis case are pending.