SWANSEA – Illinois State Police arrested a 23-year-old Swansea woman on a first-degree murder charge Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old St. Louis woman at an East St. Louis intersection earlier this week.
The arrest of Brion D. Bess was announced on Friday, June 5, 2026, by the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Public Safety Enforcement Group. Authorities said the case stems from a Wednesday, June 3, 2026, homicide investigation at the intersection of 25th Street and Ridge Avenue in East St. Louis.
According to the Illinois State Police, Ni’kajha A.K. Johnson, 24, of St. Louis, Mo., was shot inside her vehicle while stopped at a stop sign. Johnson was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead…