ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man avoided a murder trial for a 2022 homicide by reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.
Dontae D. Mentria, 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
Mentria had previously been charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Martin Rybialek.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the shooting took place on Jan. 12, 2022, inside an apartment building in the 2700 block of Dalton Avenue in the city’s Southwest Garden neighborhood.
Police said Rybialek was shot in the basement of the apartment building. Mentria was the only person in the basement with Rybialek at the time of the shooting. Rybialek was found dead at the scene. He was 42.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office agreed to amend the murder charge if Mentria admitted to the crime.
A circuit court judge approved the plea agreement and sentenced Mentria to 15 years for voluntary manslaughter, a consecutive three-year term for armed criminal action, and a concurrent seven-year term for unlawful gun possession, for a combined 18-year prison sentence.
Prior to sentencing, Rybialek’s ex-wife showed the judge pictures of Martin and said the shooting forced her to “have the hardest conversation imaginable with my child.
Mentria made no statement in court before or after sentencing. The judge told Mentria, who has nine children of his own, that she hopes he reflects on Rybialek’s family’s loss while in prison.