Police say the same suspect carried out three armed robberies in St. Louis over five days before a 28-year-old skating coach was killed.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A 58-year-old St. Louis man is charged with murder and robbery after police said he fatally shot 28-year-old Gabrielle “Sam” Linehan in a Starbucks drive-thru on Feb. 10, the last in a string of armed holdups along South Grand Boulevard.

Prosecutors say Keith Brown is accused of carrying out three robberies in five days, including the shooting death of Linehan, a well-known figure skating coach and former competitive skater. The case has drawn attention not only because of the daylight killing at a busy coffee shop, but also because police say Brown used a similar method, wore the same work-style outfit and left a trail of evidence tying the incidents together. Brown was ordered held without bond after his arrest, and the killing shook both the South St. Louis neighborhood around Tower Grove and the local skating community where Linehan worked and competed.

According to charging records summarized by police and local media, the string of crimes began Feb. 6 at a Jack in the Box drive-thru on South Grand Boulevard. Investigators said Brown approached a vehicle occupied by a mother and her daughter, pointed a gun into the car and took a 9 mm handgun, a purse with bank cards and both victims’ cellphones. Two days later, police said, he went to a Dollar General about eight miles north and robbed a cashier at gunpoint. In both earlier cases, investigators said, he fired his weapon during the crime. Then, at about 10 a.m. on Tue., Feb. 10, police said Brown walked up to Linehan’s vehicle while she sat in the Starbucks drive-thru in the 2300 block of South Grand Boulevard. Prosecutors allege he ordered her to raise her hands, shot her and then took her bank cards and driver’s license.

Brown faces one count of first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. Police said surveillance video captured all three robberies and showed the suspect in the same neon safety vest and hard hat or helmet each time, a detail investigators say helped link the cases quickly. When officers executed a search warrant at Brown’s home, police said they found the vest and headgear, along with property believed to have been stolen from the victims and suspected narcotics. Authorities also said Brown is a convicted felon and had absconded while on parole from an earlier first-degree robbery case. He was taken into custody late Feb. 10, and reporting after his arrest said he was armed when police moved in. Investigators have not publicly said what prompted Brown to target the specific locations or whether he had any prior connection to Linehan.

Linehan’s death brought an immediate response from the skating world and from people who knew her through another part of her life in St. Louis. She coached for the Metro Edge Figure Skating Club and had represented U.S. Figure Skating as part of St. Louis Synergy, a junior synchronized team that won a silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. Friends and colleagues also identified Linehan as a restaurant manager in the city. In a message shared with skaters and families, her club described the loss as heartbreaking and difficult for a close-knit community that knew her as “Coach Sam.” Later public tributes called her a cherished mentor and friend whose impact extended well beyond the ice. By early March, supporters had raised nearly $70,000 through an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs, with part of the money set aside for a scholarship in her name. The outpouring underscored how widely known she was in St. Louis despite her age.

The case also raised questions about how a series of armed robberies on the same corridor turned into a fatal shooting before the suspect was arrested. Police said their investigation developed over several days as detectives reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses and worked to confirm connections between the incidents. In a statement carried by national media, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said information can change as forensic evidence comes in and as detectives establish links between crimes. The department said it understood public concern and described the investigation as active and ongoing. That response came as residents focused on the fact that the attacks all happened within a narrow time frame and included gunfire before the killing. Public reporting available after Brown’s arrest said a judge denied him bond at a Feb. 13 court appearance. Court records cited at the time listed additional hearings later in February and a preliminary hearing for March 11, though the most recent public case update was not immediately available in the reports reviewed for this article.

Even in a city used to frequent crime headlines, the details of this case stood out because of the setting and the randomness described by investigators. The shooting happened in broad daylight at a drive-thru used by commuters, neighborhood residents and families moving through the South Grand business district near Tower Grove. The victim was not accused of knowing the suspect, and police said Brown stole personal items after the shooting, reinforcing the prosecution’s theory that Linehan was attacked during a robbery rather than a personal dispute. The allegations also describe a blunt pattern: approach an occupied space, point a gun, demand property and fire. That pattern, combined with the repeated use of the same bright workwear, gave the case an almost unmistakable visual marker. For Linehan’s friends and students, though, the broader legal questions sit beside a simpler fact: a coach who spent years building young skaters and working in the community was killed while waiting for coffee on an ordinary Tuesday morning.

A memorial service and later celebration of life reflected the two worlds Linehan moved through every day: the rink and the restaurant community. Mourners described her as steady, warm and deeply invested in younger skaters. The club’s public tribute said her reach went far beyond medals or results, framing her as a mentor whose presence shaped athletes and families over time. Those remembrances have become part of the public face of the case as prosecutors move forward against Brown. For investigators, the next phase is likely to center on evidence already outlined in court summaries: video from three scenes, items recovered in the search of Brown’s residence and records connected to the stolen property. For the city, the case remains both a murder prosecution and a story about a short burst of violence that ended with a highly visible killing. For the people who knew Linehan, the public record now sits alongside a much more personal one made up of lessons, rehearsals, shifts, friendships and grief.

As of the latest public reports, Brown remained jailed without bond while the murder and robbery case moved through St. Louis courts. The next key milestone is the next publicly confirmed court setting, where prosecutors are expected to continue laying out the evidence behind the three linked robberies and Linehan’s killing.