Dad shoots youth football coach over son’s playing time, MO cops say. He’s convicted

A father has been convicted of shooting a youth football coach during an argument over his son’s playing time, Missouri officials say.

Daryl B. Clemmons, who was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action following the Oct. 10, 2023, shooting at Sherman Park in St. Louis, was found guilty on both counts, according to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office.

Officials said a group of 9- and 10-year-old children were present as Clemmons, 45, got into an argument with Shaquille Latimore, a 34-year-old volunteer coach for the City Rec Legends Football League.

Clemmons, according to a probable cause statement, “was upset with (Latimore) for not starting his son.”

Authorities said both men were armed, but Latimore gave his gun to a friend and told the parent they could fight with their fists.

“Clemmons rejected that idea and shot Latimore five times,” the circuit attorney’s office said.

The parent fled after the shooting, but officials said he turned himself in later that day.

During his trial, Clemmons argued the shooting was in self-defense, alleging Latimore was demanding his gun back, according to KTVI.

Despite his plea, a jury found Clemmons guilty. He has filed a motion for a new trial, court records show.

The coach’s mother, SeMiko Latimore, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch her son was “thankful to be alive.”

“It’s senseless,” she told the publication. “We’re supposed to be bringing these kids off the streets and teaching them what to do, what not to do. We’ve got all these kids traumatized because their coach was shot in front of them.”

Clemmons is scheduled to be sentenced March 13, officials said.

“Violence, especially in youth sports, is completely unacceptable and undermines the purpose of these programs — teaching teamwork, discipline, and respect,” St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a statement. “This could easily have been a lethal encounter for the coach as well as for the children and family members present. Unfortunately, the trauma of this event will not be easily forgotten by all those who witnessed it.”