Police said video, cellphone records and witness identification helped connect Jada Bell to the fatal shooting.
CLAYTON, Mo. — St. Louis County prosecutors have filed six felony charges against Jada Bell after investigators said surveillance footage and cellphone data linked her to a fatal Steak ’n Shake drive-thru shooting.
The April 8 killing of Chauncia Meekins, 32, first reached the public as a late-night shooting with no suspect in custody. By April 20, police said the investigation had identified Bell, 20, as the driver of a white SUV involved in the dispute. Prosecutors charged her with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and three counts of armed criminal action.
Investigators said the case rests in part on what cameras recorded at the restaurant in the 11000 block of Bellefontaine Road. The probable cause statement said Bell drove up to the window, argued with employees about a food order, threw a drink cup at Meekins and then fired several handgun rounds after Meekins threw a drink back. The same police account said Meekins was hit multiple times and died from gunshot injuries. A second worker was shot in the hand. Officers had been called to the restaurant about 11:35 p.m., and the second employee was transported for treatment. Police have not released the full video, but they said the incident was captured on Steak ’n Shake surveillance footage. Family members later said the argument involved onion rings.
Cellphone evidence became another named piece of the case. St. Louis County police said Bell’s phone was in the area of the Steak ’n Shake when the shots were fired. That allegation could become important as lawyers review how investigators obtained the data, what time window it covers and how closely it places the phone to the restaurant. Spectrum News reported that Col. Kenneth Lohr also mentioned DNA evidence and witness identification during the announcement of charges. Police have not released those details, and the public record does not yet say what DNA was tested or who made the identification. “We do hope this provides a sense of justice,” Lohr said, while adding that nothing could bring Meekins back.
The charging decision shifted the case into the St. Louis County courts. Bell was being held on a $1 million cash-only bond, with no 10% option. The bond amount reflects the seriousness of the charges, not a finding of guilt. Prosecutors must still prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Bell’s first-degree murder charge alleges a deliberate killing under Missouri law. The assault charge relates to the second worker who was wounded. Armed criminal action counts are often filed when prosecutors allege a weapon was used during separate felony acts. The unlawful use of a weapon charge alleges shooting at or from a motor vehicle at a person, vehicle or building, resulting in death or injury.
The evidence described by police also gives a rough timeline. The SUV reached the drive-thru window late April 8. A dispute unfolded at the window, where Meekins and at least one other employee were working. Drinks were thrown. Shots were fired through or toward the window. Officers responded, found Meekins dead and began a homicide investigation. On April 9, police publicly identified the victim as Chauncia Meekins, of St. Louis County. In the following days, relatives spoke about her life and the argument they said preceded her death. On April 20, the prosecutor’s office issued charges against Bell. Her next court date was listed for April 28.
Meekins’ family has supplied many of the details about who she was outside the case file. Her mother, Tamela Washington, said Meekins had been on the job for about three months and had been happy when they spoke hours before the shooting. Washington said they talked about Meekins’ April 23 birthday and a favorite meal she wanted her mother to cook. “I just talked to my daughter,” Washington said as she described her disbelief. She called her daughter bright, friendly and funny, and said the killing left a family grieving over what had started as a dispute about fast food. Meekins’ obituary said she would be remembered for her presence and the impact she had on the people around her.
The request for the death penalty came from relatives, not from a public filing by prosecutors. Anthony Willhite, Meekins’ cousin, said the family wanted prosecutors to seek that punishment “but not for revenge.” He said the goal was to set an example because “we need to stop this type of senseless violence out here.” Missouri law permits death as a possible sentence in some first-degree murder cases involving qualifying aggravating circumstances, but that process is separate from the initial charge. Prosecutors would have to make formal decisions and filings before a jury could be asked to consider death. As of the reports reviewed, no such public notice had been announced in Bell’s case.
The public evidence leaves unanswered questions that may shape the case. It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will say the firing of several rounds created a risk to more than one person, whether any aggravating factor will be alleged, or how the defense will respond to the police account. It is also unknown whether the gun was recovered or whether investigators identified other occupants in the SUV. The court may later hear motions over surveillance footage, cellphone records, DNA testing and witness statements. Those steps can decide what evidence reaches a jury and what remains outside the trial record. Until then, the probable cause statement is only the state’s first public version of the case.
The shooting also left a second victim whose story has remained mostly private. Police said the injured male co-worker survived a gunshot wound to the hand, but officials have not released his name. His injury is part of the assault charge and at least one weapon-related count. His account, if given to police, may become a central witness statement because he was working inside the restaurant during the confrontation. The surveillance footage may show where he stood, how close he was to Meekins and how the bullets entered the drive-thru area. Those details have not been made public, but they are likely to matter if lawyers argue about intent, sequence and the danger created inside the restaurant.
For now, the known record is narrow but grave: a drive-thru order dispute, thrown drinks, gunfire, one worker dead and another wounded. Bell remained jailed as the case advanced toward its next hearing, and investigators continued handling the homicide through the county’s Crimes Against Persons unit.
Author note: Last updated May 18, 2026.