ST. LOUIS – An offer for cash ended in tragedy five years ago, when a man shot Clenelle Johnson to death. Johnson, a 56-year-old contractor, was reportedly asking for help.

Earlier this week, a St. Louis judge ruled the shooter was not guilty of a crime.

Johnson’s family said he had a unique way of brightening people’s lives. One day, while working as a contractor, his stepdaughter, Gabrielle Treadway, says he remembered someone who might need some cash and who could maybe help him with a job.

“…For him to remember that and want to stop and, you know, ask this person to help him and offer to pay him, and he lost his life for that – that is outrageous,” Treadway said.

The shooting happened on Oct. 28, 2019, in the 1000 block of Bates Street, approximately a half-mile north of Carondelet Park. Police arrested 47-year-old Kevin Patrick, who was later charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. The court record indicates he shot Johnson five to six times.

Johnson was rehabbing a home on Colorado Ave. when his contracting partner said they needed help carrying some wood. Johnson reportedly saw another rehab property about a block away on Bates. It was described as a skeleton at the time; unlivable, but with work being done.

“He knocked on the door, yelled, and announced himself, ‘Hey, I’m looking for somebody to help me remove this stuff. I’m willing to pay!’” Treadway said. “I wish he hadn’t of went in the house; but unfortunately, he did, and it cost him his life.”

“I feel awful for the victim’s family in this particular case,” defense attorney Joel Schwartz said. “By all accounts, the victim in this case was a hardworking, nice individual.”

Schwartz secured Patrick’s “not guilty” verdict, which was decided by a St. Louis judge after a bench trial.

“This is exactly what the castle doctrine does to protect the homeowner and a car owner,” he said.

Schwartz says the home was not abandoned and that his client was not only working on the home but also owned it.

“Missouri law is what it is regarding the use of firearms,” Schwartz said. “My personal opinion is it simply goes too far in allowing individuals to use these firearms in their homes and in their vehicles, but that is what the law is, and my job is to defend individuals based on the current standing of the law.”

Clenelle Johnson left behind six children and seven grandchildren.

“It just really sucks that someone made such a huge decision to take somebody’s life like that for literally no reason at all,” Treadway said.