ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A man from St. Louis County admitted in court Thursday that he lied to police about the circumstances surrounding the shooting of a 2-year-old boy last year, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
In a plea agreement, 36-year-old Rodrick Miller of Pine Lawn, Missouri, acknowledged that he and the toddler’s mother, Taiesha Campbell, were cleaning a semi-automatic pistol inside her home in Wellston on March 6, 2025. Afterward, they left the firearm on a couch.
Miller stated that he does not know exactly how the child was shot, but the toddler suffered a gunshot wound to the calf.
Following the shooting, Miller and the child’s mother took the boy to a hospital for treatment. While on the way, Miller stopped near a wooded area and hid the firearm behind a tree.
Authorities say the two then lied to officers with the North County Police Cooperative, claiming the child had been struck by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting involving two vehicles while the mother was walking home.
Police later recovered the gun.
Police first learned about the shooting after a hospital alerted the North County Police Cooperative that a toddler had arrived with a gunshot wound to the leg. By the time officers reached the hospital, the child and his mother, Campbell, had already been transferred to another medical facility.
Although they initially told authorities the boy had been struck by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting, detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the reported time and location and found no evidence that such an incident had occurred.
Campbell later told detectives that she had been cleaning the firearm with Miller inside her home before leaving him alone in the room. She said that moments later she heard a gunshot and returned to find her son seriously injured.
When officers went back to the home during the investigation, they discovered that a section of the couch had been cut out and also found narcotics on the same couch.
“Everyone’s a victim in this scenario, right? Ultimately, parents, family, siblings, they had a child that was shot, right? And it’s our duty, not only the family, but as a community; we all feel that,” said Corp. Benjamin Santoyo, a detective with the North County Police Cooperative.
St. Louis County prosecutors had previously charged Miller with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm, and tampering with physical evidence. Campbell faced charges of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, armed criminal action, and tampering with physical evidence.
On Thursday, Miller pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a separate charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Miller is scheduled for sentencing in June and could face up to 15 years in prison.
The North County Police Cooperative, the St. Ann Police Department, and the St. Louis County Police Department handled the investigation.