ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis jury convicted a man in a 2020 double shooting that killed one St. Louis police officer and wounded another.

Thomas Kinworthy was found guilty of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and resisting arrest.

Jurors began their deliberations shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Kinworthy’s defense admitted their client pulled the trigger, killing Officer Tamarris Bohannon, but argued a mental illness prevented Kinworthy from knowing what he was doing. The 46-year-old shot and injured Bohannon’s partner, as well as a homeless man in the area.

Prosecutors said Kinworthy, a convicted felon who was wanted in Florida, came to St. Louis on Aug. 24, 2020, to visit his estranged father.

On the afternoon of August 29, Kinworthy shot a homeless man digging in a dumpster in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. The victim ran to a nearby home and asked them to call 911.

As the homeowners were calling the police, Kinworthy, who was armed with a 9mm handgun, entered the residence and ordered them to hang up the phone. The homeowners managed to escape unharmed. Kingworthy barricaded himself inside the residence.

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Officers Bohannon and Daniel DeVasto were the first police to arrive at the scene. As they walked toward the front of the residence, Kinworthy fired a shot from a second-floor window and struck Bohannon in the head.

Other officers converged on the scene, grabbed Bohannon, and rushed him to the hospital, where he died of his wound. Bohannon was 29.

Kinworthy shot another police officer in the leg as the officer attempted to take cover behind a parked car.

Kinworthy was arrested after a standoff that lasted nearly 12 hours, culminating in a SWAT team firing cannisters into the home and storming the residence to capture Kinworthy.

Bohannon served with the department for three and a half years at the time of his death. He left behind a wife and three children.

Following Thursday’s verdict, Bohannon’s family walked down the courthouse steps and stopped to pray in front of a memorial for fallen St. Louis Police officers.

Before leaving the courthouse, Bohannon’s father had a message for St. Louis police officers.  Alfred Bohannon said, “We love you. We may not say it, but today we said it loud and clear.”

He added that the verdict brings some form of closure but will not bring back his son.  Bohannon said, “He doesn’t have the privilege of waking up to his wife and his children, enjoying the food he likes, or going to the sports games he loves to go to.”

St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy sent a message to members of his department asking they keep the Bohannon family, friends, and fellow officers in their prayers.

Outside the courthouse, Tracy expressed gratitude to the prosecutors and officers who responded the day Bohannon was killed and another officer was wounded. He said the verdict will bring some relief to the department’s officers.

Tracy stated, “The jury returned a guilty verdict for a murderer.”

Following the trial, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore praised the prosecutors from his office who handled the case, offered condolences to the Bohannon family, praised the courage of law enforcement, and issued a warning to criminals in the city.

“It is my hope that this verdict sends a message – to law-abiding citizens and criminals alike – that whether it takes a week, a month, a year or more, justice will be served,” he said. “A dangerous, desperate felon who left a trail of chaos and despair behind him will be where he belongs: in prison for the rest of his life.”

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