In a harrowing turn of events, an attempted car theft ended with one assailant dead and the other facing multiple criminal charges, including second-degree murder. The incident occurred when the two assailants made the mistake of trying to carjack an armed citizen who decided he would rather hold on to his vehicle.

The encounter took place on October 28 in the parking lot of HotShots Bar & Grill in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

What started as one thing quickly turned into much more once police arrived, according to [Lt. Jillian] McCoy.

"We did receive a call for service. The call actually came out as an attempted stolen auto. Upon arrival, officers immediately located a victim lying on the ground," she said.

A man told police he was sitting in his car when he heard glass breaking. McCoy said when the man got out of his car he saw two men wearing black ski masks running towards him.

"When you have two individuals who have black ski masks and they're coming at you at a high rate of speed after committing several felonies, any normal person in their right mind would fear for their life," she said.

That's why, McCoy said, the man fired his gun, killing 19-year-old Javion Bibby.

His accused accomplice, 18-year-old Ronnie Jewett, then picked up Bibby's gun and raised it up at the victim, McCoy said. The victim then shot several rounds towards the area where Jewett was.

After that, McCoy said Jewett then ran towards the Affton area, where police found him quickly after.

Jewett is facing a plethora of charges. The prosecution is charging him with second-degree felony murder, armed criminal action, attempted stealing of a vehicle, and tampering with physical evidence. His bond has been set at $1 million, cash only. What is noteworthy about this case is that under Missouri law, a person can be charged with murder if death occurs during the commission of a crime to which they are an accomplice.

The armed citizen is not being charged with a crime as law enforcement concluded he acted in self-defense after investigating the matter. 

Another interesting aspect of this story is that it revealed a widespread organized auto theft crime ring across the St. Louis area. Both of the assailants were part of the crime ring and were known to be dangerous individuals.

This is yet another story illustrating how important gun ownership is – even in areas without high crime rates. Indeed, the area in which this altercation took place is a fairly well-to-do part of the St. Louis metropolitan area that does not experience high levels of crime. Still, one can never know when bad actors are lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to victimize them. Indeed, in this case, members of a carjacking ring could have believed they could steal a higher-quality vehicle to get more money for it.

The situation could have turned out quite differently if the citizen had not been armed. He could have lost more than just his vehicle; in many of these cases, the thieves will harm — or even kill —their victims. This is yet another reason why it is better for people to arm themselves instead of relying on law enforcement.