NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

SAYLER A. FLEMING
Contact: Venton Blandin, Communications Director | (314) 539-6805 | 111 South 10 th St., 20th Floor | St. Louis, MO 63102

May 19, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Louis County teenager pleads guilty to carjacking resulting in 61-year-old nurse’s death

ST. LOUIS – Lashawn T. Clayburn, 19, of  Pine Lawn, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of
carjacking resulting in death and one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a
carjacking resulting in death. Clayburn appeared, today, before United States District Court
Henry E. Autrey.

On the evening of January 5, 2019, Naomi Miller left her home in the 2500 block of Arden to
get into her vehicle to go to her job, where she worked as a healthcare nurse. Clayburn
approached Miller, shot her and stole her vehicle from the driveway of her Pine Lawn home.
Police were not called until approximately an hour later. When they arrived at Miller’s home,
she had died from the gunshot wound.

Clayburn spent the next several hours driving around in Miller’s vehicle and picking
up friends of his for the purpose of going “Joyriding." About an hour and a half after the
homicide, Clayburn pulled up to a Steak N' Shake off of Jennings Station Road with two
friends and was captured on surveillance video. Clayburn was also captured on surveillance at a
Taco Bell location where he met with two relatives to discuss disposing of the vehicle.

The following day, Clayburn met with a group of his friends at a residence in the 8800 block of
Alva to trade Miller’s vehicle for another stolen vehicle, since the vehicle Clayburn was driving
was associated with Miller’s homicide. Clayburn and his friends, claiming to be part of a gang
calling themselves "Murdaa Gang," took the license plate off of Miller’s vehicle and disposed of
it in a neighboring back yard before replacing it with a license plate from another stolen vehicle.

On March 13, 2019, after being interviewed by federal agents relative to the
carjacking and Miller’s murder, Clayburn placed a recorded jail call to his cousin in an
attempt to secure a false alibi for the night of January 5, 2019. Clayburn used another inmate's
PIN number and told his cousin to "delete the call" in an effort to destroy evidence of the
conversation.

“Naomi Miller was a phenomenal woman.  She was kind, humble and generous.  She valued
family and friends and never met a stranger.  My aunt was the type of person that would have
given you the last dollar in her pocket.  What happened to her was not fair, but I believe my aunt
would forgive the people that did this to her,” said Miller’s niece. “My family is so thankful for
all of the hard work that law enforcement put into this investigation, and the work of the US
Attorney’s Office in getting the case prosecuted. While my family knows that nothing can bring
our wonderful aunt back, we find comfort knowing that the guilty individuals will be held
responsible for their actions, and hope this will make others think twice before taking another
innocent life.”

“Ms. Miller’s death was a senseless tragedy, and this case highlights our office’s commitment to
inter-agency cooperation to achieve some measure of justice on behalf of victims’ families,” said
U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “The agencies involved in this investigation showed tireless
dedication in exhausting every lead until they found the perpetrator.”

Judge Autrey has set sentencing for __. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, St. Louis Metropolitan Police
Department, North County Police Cooperative and Major Case Squad investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Angie Danis is handling the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the
Eastern District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov/edmo
Twitter: @USAO_EDMO