Grand jury to hear case against suspect in Southeast student's death

A hearing for a man accused of shooting to death Southeast Missouri State University sophomore Robert Christman III was continued Monday so his case can be heard by a grand jury.

Christopher Grant, 18, of Collinsville, Illinois, was charged in early February with murdering Christman, 19, during a failed robbery attempt a month earlier in downtown St. Louis.

On Monday, Associate Circuit Judge Michael W. Noble of St. Louis agreed to continue the case so it can be heard by the grand jury no later than April 2.

In addition to the murder charge, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce charged Grant with attempted first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and three counts of armed criminal action in connection with the Jan. 11 incident.

Christman, his brother, and Christman's 19-year-old girlfriend were sitting in a parked Chevrolet Cobalt in the 700 block of North 15th Street in St. Louis when Grant got out of a car, opened the driver's side door of the Cobalt and ordered the occupants out at gunpoint, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case.

When Grant leaned into the vehicle to take a purse from the woman in the backseat, Christman tried to intervene, and Grant shot him in the head.

After Monday's hearing, a circuit clerk explained if Grant isn't indicted by April 2, a motion to dismiss the case will be filed.

If Grant is indicted, he will be arraigned, and the case will be transferred to a trial or plea division.

Two other men were arrested soon after Christman's death, but the circuit clerk was unable to say whether their charges are related to the shooting investigation.

Tony Ross, 19, of East St. Louis, Illinois, turned himself in Jan. 23 and was charged with several felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, in connection with a Jan. 11 police pursuit in Washington Park. Ross is accused of shooting at a police car and at St. Louis police officer Brian McGlynn.

Aza K. Thompson, 18, also of East St. Louis, was arrested as a result of the investigation into Christman's death, St. Clair County, Illinois, State's Attorney Brendan Kelly said.

Thompson faces drug, weapon and possession of a stolen vehicle charges in connection with his Jan. 13 arrest on the East St. Louis Senior High School parking lot, where police found him driving a stolen Honda CR-V.

smaue@semissourian.com

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