CRIME: TEEN TELLS OF DEADLY SHOOTOUT IN PARK

A Cape Girardeau teen-ager who admits firing a gun in a deadly shootout at Indian Park hasn't been charged with any crime and has visited the park since.

The teen-ager, Solomon Sides, 17, is the younger brother of the man slain Thursday in the park at the corner of Lorimier and William streets.

Sides, who visited Indian Park with friends on Monday, said he shot back with a .22-caliber handgun after bullets were fired at him Thursday. The shootout ended with the death of 19-year-old Jesus Sides from a single gunshot wound to the chest, said Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Carpenter. His funeral is Wednesday at New Bethel Baptist Church.

Cape Girardeau police would not say whether any other shooters are being sought. The incident is still being investigated, Lt. Carl Kinnison said.

The fact that no one else is charged does not mean additional charges are not forthcoming, he said.

Originally, 18-year-old Robert L. Criddle was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting. But Criddle was released Friday after his stepbrother, Robert Deniro Moore, 18, confessed to police that he fired six shots at Solomon Sides, one of which is believed to have killed his brother, police stated in an affidavit. Moore is charged with second-degree murder.

The only other person taken into custody in connection with the shooting is a 16-year-old boy, Kinnison said. He was cited in juvenile court for probation violation.

Sides said he saw his brother run from Indian Park -- the scene of Moore's shots -- to Lorimier Street, where his brother's body was found by authorities. He doesn't believe it was Moore who fired the fatal shot, but he declined to say who it was.

"Some people came to the bench to start stuff. They came to kill my brother," Sides said Monday. "I wasn't scared. I didn't think they were going to shoot."

He said a group of about 12 males came to the park to settle a grudge resulting from a stabbing at the Taste Lounge on Good Hope Street in September. At least one member of this group opened fire, he said.

Police reported they recovered a .22-caliber handgun along with two others at the scene.

Sides Monday showed a grazing wound on his right ankle that he claimed he received in the exchange of shots.

Along with a .22-caliber handgun found in some brush just south of the park and a .38-caliber revolver discovered in a portable toilet, a 9 mm handgun was located, Cpl. Kevin Orr said.

Police declined to say where the third gun was found, stating it was part of the investigation.

The number of people around Indian Park at the time of the shooting is still undetermined, although police have determined the identities of at least six individuals, Kinnison said.

An autopsy performed on Sunday didn't determine the caliber of weapon that was used to kill Sides, Carpenter said. The bullet passed through the victim's body and was not recovered.