ST. LOUIS — Two men pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in connection with the 2023 killing of 18-year-old Devon Williams at a Cool Valley gas station.
Christopher “Face” Hall, 25, and Bryant “BJ” Pirtle, 23, each pleaded guilty to one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to their plea agreements, the men had been selling marijuana from a 2017 Honda Accord before stopping at a gas station in the 1700 block of South Florissant Road around 3 a.m. Jan. 29, 2023.
Inside the store, Pirtle offered Williams marijuana and directed him to the Honda outside. Williams approached the car carrying $20.
After a discussion, Williams turned and walked away. Hall got out of the driver’s seat, and both men opened fire, fatally wounding Williams, prosecutors said.
Hall then ran over Williams while fleeing the station and later bragged about doing so in text messages, according to the plea agreements.
Investigators recovered an iPhone and a gray Lacoste backpack from Pirtle during a later, unrelated arrest. Prosecutors said the items matched those visible in surveillance footage from the night of the killing. Police recovered the Beretta handgun Hall used in the shooting during an unrelated stop in July 2024.
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 20. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The FBI, St. Louis County Police Department and Normandy Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nino Przulj and Jen Szczucinski are prosecuting it.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri: Oct. 15, 2026, guilty plea announcement; March 30, 2023, indictment announcement identifying Devon Williams; June 22, 2023, indictment announcement.
