Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Demeria Thomas, age 38, on today’s date for deprivation of rights under color of law related to her knowingly allowing inmates to assault another inmate while in his cell at the St. Louis City Justice Center.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Thomas in July 2021.  Judge Schelp set sentencing for May 10, 2022. 

According to the indictment, on March 22, 2021, Demeria Thomas was employed by the City of St. Louis as a Corrections Officer at the City Justice Center. Thomas was on duty at the City Justice Center on March 22, 2021, and acted, at all times relevant hereto, under color of law. 

Thomas was operating a control panel which locked and unlocked cells in her area of responsibility.  After engaging in conversation with two inmates, Thomas unlocked a specific cell door.  This allowed the two inmates to enter and physically assault another inmate. 

In addition, Thomas directed other inmates to stay away, prohibiting them from coming to the aid of the victim.  Several minutes after the assault began, Thomas walked to the open door of the cell as the suspects continued the assault. Thomas calmly instructed the suspects to leave the cell.  After they had left, Thomas closed the door to the cell, making no effort to render aid to the bleeding and incapacitated victim.  Thomas also failed to disclose the assault and filed no report of the incident.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 

ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted James Furlow on today’s date for numerous counts related to a crime spree during the last week of December 2021.     

The indictment charges that Furlow committed three armed robberies, specifically, two carjackings and a commercial business robbery.  In addition, it is alleged that Furlow discharged a firearm while committing the business robbery, severely injuring an employee, and that Furlow brandished a firearm while committing both carjackings. 

The indictment alleges on December 26, 2021, Furlow carjacked a victim at gunpoint, stealing a 2017 Kia Sorrento.  Later that same day, Furlow robbed a Quik Mart store and shot the clerk during the robbery.  On December 30, 2021, Furlow carjacked another victim at gunpoint, stealing a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan. 

Following the December 30, 2021, carjacking, officers saw the Tiguan.  Furlow was driving and fled from officers in the Tiguan, before ultimately fleeing on foot.  Eventually, Furlow was found and arrested.  Furlow is currently in custody. 

Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, St. Louis County Police Department, Overland Police Department, North County Police Cooperative, and the St. Ann Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – On February 8, 2022, federal charges were filed against Chuny Ann Reed, age 46.  Reed is accused of distribution of crack cocaine (cocaine base) and fentanyl.  These charges were a result of an investigation that began after a series of fatal overdoses that occurred at 4451 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri on February 5, 2022. 

According to the charging documents, on February 5, 2022, law enforcement was notified about a series of suspected fentanyl related overdoses that occurred at 4451 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, located within the Eastern District of Missouri. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigators responded to assist the SLMPD with the investigation.

It was determined at least nine victims suffered fentanyl overdoses at 4451 Forest Park Avenue on the day in question.  Investigators further determined five of the nine victims died as a result.  Agents and detectives developed information that Chuny Reed was distributing crack cocaine on February 5, 2022, from her residence located at 4451 Forest Park Avenue. 

Investigators learned that video surveillance footage from inside the apartment complex was available via the SLMPD Real Time Crime Center because the apartment complex is affiliated with the St. Louis Housing Authority.  While reviewing the previously mentioned surveillance footage, investigators observed a black male arrive at Reed’s apartment on February 5, 2022. The black male entered Reed’s apartment and stayed for several minutes. He then departed and returned directly to his apartment. Later in the day, this individual was discovered dead inside his apartment from an apparent overdose. At the scene of the overdose death, investigators recovered and seized a crack pipe with trace amounts of a suspected controlled substance inside the pipe.  This evidence was taken to the SLMPD Crime Laboratory for analysis on February 6, 2022. Investigators received an analysis report that confirmed the trace substance found on the pipe was in fact a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine base, both Schedule II controlled substances.

On February 7, 2022, a federal search warrant was executed at the residence of Reed, where she was located and subsequently arrested. 

Additional federal charges will be considered upon the completion of the current investigation as well as the investigative and toxicology reports forthcoming from the Medical Examiner’s Office. 

Charges set forth are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk accepted a plea of guilty from Jarvis L. Fields on today’s date for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Fields in December 2020.  Judge Pitlyk set sentencing for May 3, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, on April 10, 2020, the St. Louis County Police Department received a report of shots fired in the 2400 block of Princess Drive in north St. Louis County, within the Eastern District of Missouri. When officers arrived on scene, they noticed a blue Ford Fusion idling with its brake lights illuminated. The officers decided to investigate due to the suspicious nature of the vehicle and proximity to the shots fired.  Officers contacted Fields in the passenger seat of the vehicle which was determined to have stolen license plates. 

Fields exited the vehicle while repeatedly ignoring the police officer’s commands.  As officers attempted to restrain him, Fields advised he had a gun in his satchel, which was strapped across his shoulder. After a struggle, officers brought Fields to the ground. They were able to secure him only after cutting a strap on the bag and forcibly removing it.  They later discovered approximately 430 clear capsules containing fentanyl and two bags of white powder containing fentanyl in the satchel Fields possessed. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Bluestone.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Marlin Tobius, Jr., today. Tobius was previously indicted by a grand jury for unlawful possessing firearms, which police uncovered while responding to a domestic-violence incident.  

According to the plea agreement, on October 21, 2020, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department ("SLMPD") received a domestic-disturbance call from a woman who reported that her boyfriend had pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her. The officers entered the home as Tobius exited the upstairs bathroom, and he was taken into custody. Officers then searched the bathroom and found a loaded 9mm Glock 17 GEN5 handgun with a large-capacity magazine.  Additionally, officers recovered a similar 9mm Glock 17 GEN4 handgun, also loaded with a large-capacity magazine, on top of a dresser near the top of the stairs. Tobius was prohibited from possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Tobius also admitted to obstructing justice by repeatedly calling the victim and pressuring to recant while he was in jail.

The maximum possible penalty provided by law for this offense is imprisonment of not more than ten years, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both such imprisonment and fine.  The Court also may impose a period of supervised release of not more than three years. 

This case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.  The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Bluestone. 

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark accepted a plea of guilty from Ronald Scott on January 27, 2022, for knowingly robbing a commercial establishment and knowingly brandishing a firearm in furtherance of that crime.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Scott in August 2020.  Judge Clark set sentencing for May 10, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, on September 18, 2019, Scott and his co-defendant robbed the McDonald's Restaurant located at 1119 North Tucker, Saint Louis, Missouri, within the Eastern District of Missouri.  Scott, a former employee from this McDonald’s location, brandished a pistol in commission of the robbery.  Both suspects were wearing masks and one was wearing a grey backpack. 

Scott and his co-defendant left the McDonald's in a silver Chevrolet Impala. A few days after the armed robbery, the silver Chevrolet Impala was stopped by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers. Officers discovered McDonald's hats and a McDonald's paycheck stub addressed to Scott in the Impala.

Additional investigative measures to include forensic analysis of items seized from the vehicle lead to the subsequent identification and arrest of Scott.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Rodney W. Sippel accepted a plea of guilty from Scott E. Reid on today’s date for possession of child pornography.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Reid for the charge.  Judge Sippel set sentencing for April 29, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, on or about August 11, 2019, Reid uploaded via the internet multiple images of child sexual abuse material to a website.  Uploaded were images including that of a minor female engaged in lascivious behavior. 

On December 19, 2019, a search warrant was executed at the residence of Reid in St. Francois County, Missouri.  Law enforcement seized computers and electronics on which Reid had downloaded from the internet 3,344 images and 24 videos of child pornography depicting juveniles engaged in sexual conduct.  Reid admitted that he has viewed child pornography beginning as early as 1995 through internet chatrooms. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and the St. Francis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

ST. LOUIS – On January 27, 2022, several federal charges were filed against John K. Low. The 38-year-old Chesterfield resident is accused of coercion and enticement of a minor, transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to the charging documents, on January 24, 2022, the Riley County Police Department, located in Manhattan, Kansas, received a report of a missing juvenile. The investigation revealed that the missing 15-year-old child left her residence without her cell phone. Her mother provided electronic devices to Riley County Police, who analyzed the devices for any information about her disappearance. The police department was able to locate conversations belonging to the missing female on a social media messaging application. Discovered in these conversations were plans between the victim and suspect which indicated the victim was to be picked up by the suspect, unbeknownst to her parents.

On or about January 26, 2022, a search warrant was obtained from the District Court of Riley County, Kansas to obtain information pertinent to the investigation from the social

media application used by the victim. Through this information, the Riley County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were able to identify a possible suspect named John Low at a residence in Chesterfield, Missouri.

The St. Louis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified that the victim could be at John Low’s residence in Chesterfield, Missouri. Accompanied by Chesterfield Police, FBI agents knocked on door of the residence. Agents determined John Low resided at this address and discovered the victim in the house.

Charges set forth are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the Riley County Police Department, Chesterfield Police Department as well as the St. Louis and Kansas Division offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig accepted a plea of guilty from Deven Strauther, age 30, on today’s date for knowingly attempting to rob Robinson Jeweler’s on May 25, 2019.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Strauther in July 2019.  Judge Fleissig set sentencing for May 4, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, on May 25, 2019, Strauther and at least two other individuals arrived on the parking lot of the Robinson’s Jewelers in a stolen vehicle with the intent to commit an armed robbery.  Strauther and another individual were armed as they attempted to enter the jewelry store.  The business is equipped with two entry doors that allow entry into the business. As a security measure, the second door must be opened electronically by the staff.

Strauther entered the first door of the business as another suspect followed. Strauther and the other individual were not able to gain complete entry into the business because staff did not electronically open the second door. When Strauther was unable to gain entry through the second door, he kicked out the lower portion of the glass on the door to try and get in.

Fearing for their safety, the business owner and an off-duty police officer, who were both armed with firearms, fired at Strauther. In response, Strauther discharged his weapon as he and the other individual ran from the business.  Strauther was located approximately 30 minutes after the shooting at an area hospital with two gunshot wounds to his abdomen.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives are investigating this case.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Gary D. Primm, Jr. to 36 months in prison today.  After a federal jury trial in October 2021, Primm was found guilty of two counts of tax evasion and one count of failure to file an income tax return.

Primm owned and operated United Auto Defense, LLC, (“United”) located in St. Charles, Missouri, which was a call center that marketed and sold auto warranties.  In the tax year 2014, United had taxable income in excess of $620,000, but Primm failed to file an income tax return for the company. In the tax years 2014 and 2015, Primm received over a million dollars in income from United operations, but he did not pay any personal income taxes on that income.

Primm took steps to evade assessment of his taxes by diverting United funds to a nominee bank account instead of his personal bank account and by filing false forms with the IRS.  Primm used funds from the nominee bank account to pay personal expenses, including his mortgage payments, jewelry purchases, automobile purchases, and gambling expenses.

“Mr. Primm’s deliberate attempt to evade paying taxes on his income was a violation of an obligation we all have to pay our fair share of taxes,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, St. Louis Field Office. “IRS-CI is committed to enforcing the nation’s tax laws so the system is fair for all taxpayers. This sentence shows there are consequences for criminals who attempt to cheat the system.”

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated this case.  Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle T. Bateman and John Ware handled the matter for the United States Attorney’s Office.

ST. LOUIS – Marcus A. Beasley, 34, appeared before United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on today’s date. Beasley was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Beasley is one of four defendants to have pleaded guilty and be sentenced in a twenty-five-count federal indictment directed towards the members of a crack cocaine drug trafficking organization that operated in an around Webster Groves and other locations within St. Louis County and St. Louis City.

According to the plea agreement, in 2016, St. Louis County Police Department detectives received information that Beasley was selling crack cocaine in the St. Louis, Missouri area. A joint investigation was undertaken by the Saint Louis County and Webster Groves Police Department and FBI.

During the course of the months-long investigation, over twenty-one purchases of crack cocaine were completed with Beasley, or at Beasley’s direction. These illicit drug sales were completed at a variety of locations in St. Louis County and St. Louis City. Several of the transactions were completed at or near a Webster Groves residence. At sentencing, the district court found Beasley to be a manager and supervisor of the drug trafficking organization.

"The Webster Groves Police Department would like to thank the Unites States Attorney’s Office for their successful efforts in the prosecution of this case and eliminating a serious threat to our community" stated Chief Dale Curtis.

This investigation was conducted by the Webster Groves Police Department, the St. Louis County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel sentenced Nicholas M. Ray to a term of 15 years in federal prison today. Ray previously pleaded guilty to attempting to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity and distribution of child pornography in a court appearance held October 2021. In 2014, Ray was convicted in St. Charles County Circuit Court for possession of child pornography and served a three-year prison sentence.

According to the plea agreement, in March 2020, Ray contacted a profile on a social media platform that in reality was an undercover police detective. Over the course of several messages that occurred on the social media application, Ray informed the undercover detective he had a sexual interest in minors as young as eight years old. Ray also stated he was interested in child pornography and that he had previously received such material from others in online chat messages.

Between March 2020 and April 2020, Ray communicated several times with the undercover detective indicating his desire to meet up to engage in sex involving minors. On April 28, 2020, Ray using a separate online application sent the undercover detective a link containing several thousand videos of child pornography.

The undercover detective arranged a meeting with Ray at a local hotel under the guise of having a sexual relationship with a fictitious minor child. Ray was arrested on June 10, 2020, after arriving at the hotel.

This case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.

ST. LOUIS – Brandy McKay, 42, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on January 18, 2022.  McKay previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $7,520,779.00 in restitution.

According to the plea agreement, between 2017 and 2019, McKay owned or managed multiple durable medical equipment (DME) companies, including three located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The DME companies paid kickbacks for orders and prescriptions signed by telemedicine doctors and nurse practitioners, who in almost all cases did not examine the patients, had no contact with the patients, and did not otherwise determine that the patients needed durable medical equipment.

The DME companies then submitted reimbursement claims to Medicare and Medicaid.  Based on the fraudulent claims submitted by McKay and her co-conspirators, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursed the DME companies for the medically unnecessary equipment. In many cases, patients received DME equipment from several DME companies, none of which they had requested or needed.

“Submitting false claims for medically unnecessary equipment diverts funding from the necessary services required to support beneficiaries of federal health care programs,” stated Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable individuals who choose to waste vital taxpayer dollars by participating in health care fraud schemes.”

This case was investigated by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the U. S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark accepted a plea of guilty from Keith Austin, age 25, on today’s date for knowingly robbing a commercial establishment and aiding and abetting his co-defendant, knowing his co-defendant was armed during the robbery.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Austin in August 2020.  Judge Clark set sentencing for May 10, 2022. 

According to the indictment, on September 18, 2019, Austin and his co-defendant robbed the McDonald's Restaurant located at 1119 North Tucker, Saint Louis, Missouri, within the Eastern District of Missouri.  Both suspects were wearing masks and one was wearing a grey backpack.

Austin and his co-defendant left the McDonald's in a silver Chevrolet Impala. Austin removed the cash in the cash register drawer (approximately $300) and threw the drawer in a nearby sewer. 

A few days after the armed robbery, Austin was driving the silver Chevrolet Impala and was stopped by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers. Officers discovered McDonald's hats and a McDonald's paycheck stub addressed to Austin’s co-defendant in the Impala. Officers subsequently searched Austin’s home and located a grey backpack that looked like the backpack worn during the robbery. Located in the backpack were two masks, consistent with the masks worn during the robbery. Austin later confessed to his participation in the armed robbery.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU-The United States Attorney's Office announced that JOSHUA J. DAMON, age 35, was sentenced today to serve 148 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to attempted enticement of a minor. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Stephen R. Clark at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

According to court documents, the charges stemmed from an investigation in which a law enforcement officer, posing in an undercover capacity as a 14-year-old boy, began communicating with Damon on a social media platform. During the communications, Damon made repeated requests to meet the minor in person for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Arrangements were made to meet at a particular location in Doniphan, Missouri on the evening of February 25, 2021. Law enforcement officials established surveillance and Damon arrived at the agreed upon time with a condom and a jar of lubricant. At his guilty plea hearing last year, Damon admitted that he arrived at the location with the expectation of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old boy.

After serving the 148-month sentence, Damon was ordered to be placed on a lifetime term of supervised release. Damon will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.

This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, on January 30, 2019, Ellison was driving in Washington, Missouri and committed several traffic violations.  A Washington Police department patrol officer conducted a traffic stop of Ellison's vehicle upon observing these traffic violations.

At the time he was pulled over by the police, Ellison possessed a fully loaded and stolen .22 caliber pistol in a pocket of his coat as well as six rounds of .38 caliber ammunition and a large amount of United States currency.  Discovered by police around his waistband, Ellison possessed a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine.

At Ellison’s residence in his bedroom, law enforcement located several other weapons.  Law enforcement located these items and Ellison admitted to law enforcement that he had sold some of the drugs that the police had located in his possession.  Ellison was previously convicted of a felony which prohibited him from possessing any firearms. 

The Washington Missouri Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Missouri Highway Patrol investigated the case.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Arondo Harris to a term of 41 months in federal prison on January 12, 2022.  Harris was convicted by a jury in May of six counts of identity theft.  This case is of significance because the identity theft arose in connection with Harris’ filing of counterfeit quit claim deeds with the City of St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Office.

When property located in the City of St. Louis, Missouri is to be transferred through a quit claim deed, the grantor, the current owner of the property, and the grantee, the future owner of the property, must sign the quit claim deed, and their signatures must be authenticated by a licensed notary public. 

According to court documents, between January 9, 2019 and February 6, 2019, Harris presented to the City of St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Office three quit claim deeds that contained the forged signatures of the properties’ true owners. Each of the forged signatures had had been falsely authenticated through the seal and forged signature of a licensed notary public.  The property owners of one of the residences had died prior to the forgery of their signatures.

As a result of the false notarization of the quit claim deeds, representatives of the Recorders Office accepted the deeds as legitimate and falsely recorded Harris as the owner of three residences located in the City of St. Louis. 

The Court determined that Harris’ conduct resulted in losses of more than $150,000 to the legitimate owners of the properties. It also determined that Harris caused substantial financial hardship to one of the victims because that individual was left homeless by the fraudulent activities.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted based upon a referral by the Circuit Attorney’s Office for the City of St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS – Jason McCraw, age 47, of O’Fallon, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on today’s date.  Based on a previous plea of guilty, McCraw was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for the receipt of child pornography.   

According to the plea agreement, on November 26, 2019, a social networking application reported its detection of twenty-six images of child pornography on an account belonging to McCraw.   On June 10, 2020, a search warrant was executed at the St. Charles County residence of McCraw and multiple electronic items belonging to him were seized. 

Additionally, McCraw provided law enforcement with his Apple iPhone cellular telephone and the password associated with the phone.  On June 10, 2020, McCraw admitted to law enforcement that he had possibly over one hundred images or videos of child pornography on his cellular telephone and that he had been downloading child pornography from the internet for four to five years.

On the Apple iPhone, law enforcement found 2,398 images and 101 videos of child pornography that had been downloaded by McCraw from the internet onto his phone. Law enforcement also located multiple digital communication over the social networking application Kik Messenger in which McCraw discusses his sexual interest in minors and traded child sexual abuse material and child erotica with others via social media. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Charles County Police Department Cybercrime Unit. 

ST. LOUIS – Stephen Lawrence, age 70, of Palmyra, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Steven R. Clark on today’s date.  Based on a previous plea of guilty, Lawrence was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography.   

According to the plea agreement, on or about March 17, 2020, Microsoft reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual, later identified to be Stephen Lawrence, utilized a Microsoft peer-to-peer account to obtain child pornography.

On June 2, 2020, law enforcement contacted Lawrence at his residence in Palmyra, Missouri, where he consented to law enforcement seizing and examining multiple electronic devices. It was determined that on or before June 2, 2020, the defendant possessed over sixty-nine thousand images and over nineteen hundred videos containing child pornography. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at the St. Charles County Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – Aaron Jordon of Imperial, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Rodney W. Sippel on today’s date.  Jordon was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison.  Jordon previously pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of multiple firearms in September 2021.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2019, investigators received information that an individual was distributing narcotics, specifically marijuana, LSD, and “dabs” or butane honey oil (BHO) in the Jefferson County area utilizing a Snapchat account.  Investigators subsequently identified the user of the account as Aaron Jordon. 

Investigators sought and obtained a lawful search warrant on December 18, 2019. On December 26, 2019, they initiated surveillance on the residence and detained Jordon shortly after he left the residence, conducting a traffic stop of his vehicle.  They located a black Taurus .38 special revolver in the center console, as well as suspected narcotics. 

Investigators accompanied by Jordon responded back to the residence to complete the search warrant.  Additional suspected narcotics and seven firearms were located and seized.  Jordon was previously convicted of an offense that prohibited his possession of any firearms.

The above case was investigated by the Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group (JCMEG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Xiang Haitao, 44, a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit economic espionage.

According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from Monsanto, an international company based in St. Louis, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People’s Republic of China.

“Despite Xiang’s agreements to protect Monsanto’s intellectual property and repeated training on his obligations to do so, Xiang has now admitted that he stole a trade secret from Monsanto, transferred it to a memory card and attempted to take it to the People’s Republic of China for the benefit of Chinese government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “With his guilty plea, Xiang is now being held accountable for this unlawful conduct.”

“Mr. Xiang used his insider status at a major international company to steal valuable trade secrets for use in his native China,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “We cannot allow U.S. citizens or foreign nationals to hand sensitive business information over to competitors in other countries, and we will continue our vigorous criminal enforcement of economic espionage and trade secret laws. These crimes present a danger to the U.S. economy and jeopardize our nation’s leadership in innovation and our national security.”

“The American worker suffers when adversaries, like the Government of China, steal technology to grow their economies,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “It’s not just military technology developed in secret labs that adversaries want; in this case, it was agricultural technology used by American farmers to improve crop yields. The FBI will continue investigating the theft of technology from American companies because economic security is national security.”

According to court documents, Xiang was employed by Monsanto and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, from 2008 to 2017, where he worked as an imaging scientist. Monsanto and The Climate Corporation developed a digital, online farming software platform that was used by farmers to collect, store and visualize critical agricultural field data and increase and improve agricultural productivity for farmers. A critical component to the platform was a proprietary predictive algorithm referred to as the Nutrient Optimizer. Monsanto and The Climate Corporation considered the Nutrient Optimizer a valuable trade secret and their intellectual property.

In June 2017, the day after leaving employment with Monsanto and The Climate Corporation, Xiang attempted to travel to China on a one-way airplane ticket. While he was waiting to board his flight, Federal officials conducted a search of Xiang’s person and baggage. Investigators later determined that one of Xiang’s electronic devices contained copies of the Nutrient Optimizer. Xiang continued on to China where he worked for the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Soil Science. Xiang was arrested when he returned to the United States.

Xiang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a potential fine of $5 million and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Drake for the Eastern District of Missouri, Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Senior Counsel Jeff Pearlman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey accepted a plea of guilty from Hector Soto on today’s date.  Judge Autrey then sentenced Soto to 10 years in federal prison.  Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess, with the intent to distribute, actual methamphetamine. 

According to the plea agreement, between September 2018 and the date of the indictment, Hector Soto reached an agreement with co-defendants and at least one unindicted co-conspirator

to distribute and possess, with the intent to distribute, actual methamphetamine. 

On or about November 8, 2018, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) intercepted a suspicious package being shipped from California to a local residence. USPIS obtained a search warrant for the package, conducted a search, and determined that the package contained approximately six (6) kilograms of actual methamphetamine. USPIS arranged for a controlled delivery of the package to the residence and obtained an anticipatory search warrant for the residence.

A co-defendant of Soto accepted delivery of the package into the residence.  Upon the package being accepted a search of the residence was conducted, during which time nothing further was located. The palm print of a co­ defendant was located on the outside of the package. Hector Soto’s fingerprints were located on the inside of the packaging material that contained the methamphetamine.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service.

ST. LOUIS – Stephan Jones, 31, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.  Jones was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey on today’s date.

According to court records, on October 3, 2017, Jones transported himself and his associates in his vehicle to the 4700 block of Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis to buy controlled substances from an individual.  After the group bought drugs from this individual and left the area for approximately an hour, Jones transported the group back to the same location. 

While seated in his vehicle, Jones observed his associates steal drugs, money, and other valuables from that same individual. Jones’ associates were armed with loaded firearms.  During the robbery, Jones’ associates shot the victim multiple times.  The victim died from his gunshot wounds.   

Upon seeing the victim shot, Jones fled the area in his vehicle.  Minutes later, Jones returned to the area, looked for his associates, found them, and transported them from the murder scene.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.

ST. LOUIS – Pierre Phenix, 30, of St. Louis, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey on today’s date and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.  Phenix previously pleaded guilty to the charge of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm in July 2021.  

On March 31, 2021, Phenix was arrested in St. Louis County, within the Eastern District of Missouri, while possessing a firearm.  On that day, police were surveilling Phenix to arrest him on active warrants, and to take custody of three minor children who were supposed to be in the custody of the Children’s Division. Police surveilled Phenix, waiting for him to exit his vehicle so that police could arrest him without endangering the children. 

As Phenix arrived at a car wash and exited the vehicle, police stopped him and arrested him.  He was carrying a handgun in his left armpit.  Security camera footage from the car wash showed that when he exited the vehicle, the handgun was in his right pant pocket, with its extended magazine protruding from his pocket.  Once he exited the vehicle, the security footage shows him remove the handgun from his pocket and place it in his armpit, between his left arm and torso. When police arrested him, they seized the firearm.  A search of Phenix’s car led to the discovery of 4.5 grams of crack cocaine and a spare 50-round drum magazine for the handgun.

This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – Paula Smith, 69, of O’Fallon, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp on today’s date.  Smith was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.  Smith previously pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. 

Smith was a bookkeeper at an accounting firm that managed a lucrative trust account for a client (the D.E.W. Trust).  The D.E.W. Trust, which was at one time valued at $8.6 million, had over twenty named beneficiaries, including twelve charitable organizations in St. Louis, Missouri.  Between October 2013 and June 2018, Smith defrauded the D.E.W. Trust and its beneficiaries by writing numerous checks totaling $670,000 from the D.E.W. Trust to herself.  None of the funds should have gone to Smith. 

To conceal her scheme, Smith manipulated the accounting records for the D.E.W. Trust by mislabeling the fraudulent checks as being advance payments to a trustee and as payments to a vendor. As a result of these fraudulent transactions, there were less available funds to be properly distributed to the intended charitable organization beneficiaries of the D.E.W. Trust.

Smith used the funds to personally enrich herself, including to buy a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 and a 2018 Keystone Hornet Hideout 26RLS Travel Trailer.

“People who think they can get away with embezzling money should realize the crime eventually catches up with them like it did with Paula Smith,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans of the FBI St. Louis Division. “While Smith enriched herself in the short term, she will now pay a much higher price with a sentence of almost 4 years in federal prison.”

The above case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Montgomery Bank Anti-Money Laundering Team. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle T. Bateman is handling the matter.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge E. Richard Webber accepted a plea of guilty from DeAngelo Winston on today’s date.  Winston pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm and possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence.  Judge Webber set sentencing for April 7, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, on June 21, 2019, Winston entered the Boost Mobile cellular telephone store located at 3956 S. Broadway in the City of St. Louis.  Winston went around the store counter, pointed a revolver at the clerk and demanded money from the register as well as iPhones. Winston then took both money and iPhones from the Boost Mobile and fled the store. 

On August 13, 2019, Winston entered the Boost Mobile at 2253 S. Grand Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, armed with a handgun.  Winston walked around the counter and pushed his handgun into the side of a store clerk.  Winston took money from the cash register and demanded the clerk take him into the back room where extra phones were stored.  Winston also took phones from the safe in the back room and fled the store.  Winston was later identified as the perpetrator of both robberies in a photo line-up. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge John A. Ross accepted a plea of guilty from Adam Jones today.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Jones in February 2021.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 12, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, on or about July 15, 2020, within the Eastern District of Missouri, Jones knowingly and intentionally possessed more than five (5) grams of actual methamphetamine and that at the time Jones possessed the actual methamphetamine, he intended to distribute some or all of the actual methamphetamine to another person. 

Beginning in May 2020, members of the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force ("SCCRDTF") and the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") conducted a total of five undercover purchases of methamphetamine from Jones. SCCRDTF successfully introduced an undercover detective to Jones, who made the purchases of methamphetamine from Jones over an approximately 2-month period between May and July of 2020.  In addition, on July 15, 2020, Jones’ car was stopped by law enforcement and Jones was in possession of approximately one ounce of actual methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark accepted a plea of guilty from Anthony D. Jones, 28, of Bridgeton, Missouri for his role in the May 4, 2019 carjacking and death of Jessica Vinson.  Jones was previously indicted by a grand jury in July 2020.  Judge Clark set sentencing for April 20, 2022.  

According to the plea agreement, on the morning of May 4, 2019, Jessica Vinson was found deceased, her body abandoned in an alley behind the 5300 block of Vernon Avenue, Saint Louis, Missouri, within the Eastern District of Missouri. Vinson was shot twice in the side of the head and once in the back.  Her car, a 2015 Dodge Charger, was missing and her home in the 4300 block of Maffitt Avenue had been burglarized.

The investigation into Vinson's murder revealed that in the early morning hours of May 4, 2019, Jones and Vinson met outside of a club in Saint Louis, Missouri.  Jones and Vinson did not know each other prior to May 4, 2019.  Befriending the victim, Jones drove Vinson's vehicle into the alley behind the 5300 block of Vernon Avenue, Saint Louis, Missouri and shot Vinson in the head and back. Jones then pulled Vinson's body out of the vehicle, fired another shot at Vinson's head, then returned to Vinson's vehicle, entered the driver's side door, and drove away.

On May 6, 2019, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of Ms. Vinson’s vehicle, which fled at a high rate of speed and eventually crashed near an exit ramp at I-70 and Grand Avenue.  Jones fled from the driver’s seat of the vehicle.  Police located Jones, who was hiding, and arrested him.  Officers also recovered a pistol from the vehicle. 

The SLMPD Laboratory identified the fingerprints of Jones on the front driver's window and gas cap. Forensic analysis of clothing located in the vehicle, a bag containing fentanyl, and the airbag (which deployed when Jones crashed the vehicle), identified his DNA as being present on these items. Forensic analysis of the suspected blood in the vehicle identified it as being the victim’s DNA.

Jones admitted that he possessed, brandished, and discharged a handgun during the carjacking as a show of force and violence to take Vinson's vehicle. The handgun Jones discharged during the robbery is a firearm as defined under federal law.  Jones possessed, brandished, and discharged the firearm to use deadly force to overcome resistance to the carjacking.  Jones, in fact, used deadly force, which caused the death of Vinson.

The investigation also revealed that Jones sent electronic communications threatening to harm individuals who were aware of his violent conduct related to Ms. Vinson.  In sending these electronic messages, Jones intended to hinder, delay, and prevent the communication of information to a law enforcement officer relating to his commission of Vinson's carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of Vinson's carjacking.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant United States Attorney Jen Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Tarik Mazhar on today’s date.  Mazhar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.   Judge Schelp set sentencing for March 18, 2022.    

According to the plea agreement, on or about January 1, 2019, and continuing until on or about July 29, 2020, in Franklin County, Missouri, within the Eastern District of Missouri, Tarik Mazhar did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together with a co-defendant, and others known and unknown, to intentionally distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and knowingly acted in some way for the purpose of aiding the commission of the offense.

Mazhar was an inmate serving a previous sentence for Attempted Armed Bank Robbery, and Armed Bank Robbery at the Bureau of Prisons-Great Plains Correctional Institution in Hinton, Oklahoma.  While confined, Mazhar utilized a cell phone that was smuggled into the Bureau of Prisons facility to facilitate a bulk purchase of methamphetamine from an undercover agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Between June 24, 2020, and July 29, 2020, Mazhar, a co-defendant and the undercover agent conducted frequent conversations by phone to negotiate the methamphetamine deal.  Mazhar and the undercover agent eventually agreed that the co-defendant and Mazhar would pay the undercover agent $120,000.00 in U.S. currency, and—in exchange—the undercover agent would provide the co-defendant with 40 pounds (approximately 18 kilograms) of methamphetamine.

The maximum possible penalty provided by law for the crimes to which the defendant is pleading guilty is imprisonment of not more than life, a fine of not more than $10,000,000, or both such imprisonment and fine. The Court shall also impose a period of supervised release of not less than 10 years. 

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp accepted a plea of guilty from Brent Lawson on today’s date for receiving child pornography.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Lawson for the charge.  Judge Schelp set sentencing for March 18, 2022. 

On or between May 24, 2019 and November 24, 2020, in the Eastern District of Missouri, Lawson knowingly received and possessed images and videos over the internet of prepubescent minors, including minors under the age of twelve, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On May 24, 2019, Lawson, utilizing the internet, accessed child sexual abuse and exploitation material on a website that was an online bulletin board dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.  Law enforcement infiltrated that website and identified Lawson as having accessed the website. 

Subsequently, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Lawson’s residence that was executed on November 24, 2020. Forensic analysis of electronics seized by law enforcement during the search confirmed Lawson possessed fifty-four videos of child pornography that he downloaded from the internet.

Lawson was previously convicted on April 22, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for transportation of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. In that case the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to sixty months imprisonment, followed by a period of three years on supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge E. Richard Webber accepted a plea of guilty from Deronte McDaniels on today’s date.  McDaniels pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and discharge a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.  Judge Webber set sentencing for March 16, 2022.   

According to the plea agreement, in or around October 2019, relative to a shooting investigation by the University City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was requested to assist in locating the suspect, a co-conspirator of McDaniels.  ATF surveillance revealed McDaniels’ co-conspirators in this case were actively distributing fentanyl within the Eastern District of Missouri.

On October 20, 2019, a co-conspirator was shot in the arm which McDaniels witnessed.   McDaniels was the intended target of this drug related shooting and returned fire utilizing his co-conspirator’s handgun. 

In retaliation for this incident, on October 21, 2019, McDaniels and two co-conspirators possessed one or more firearms in furtherance of the commission of a drug trafficking crime. During this violation, they caused the death of David Anderson by shooting him in a case of mistaken identity.  The co-conspirators in the investigation have cases pending before the court. 

The maximum possible penalty provided by law for the crime to which McDaniel is pleading guilty is imprisonment of not more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both such imprisonment and fine. The court may also impose a period of supervised release of not more than 3 years.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the University City Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – William Jackson, 46, of Pevely, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on today’s date and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for producing child pornography.  Jackson previously pleaded guilty in August 2021. 

According to the plea agreement, on April 29, 2020, Jackson responded to an advertisement that was placed on an online forum by an undercover law enforcement officer.  Jackson communicated with the undercover officer's fictitious persona and expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the individual that Jackson believed to be an underage female.

On April 29, 2020, Jackson travelled to the State of Illinois from Missouri to meet who he believed would be the underage female minor with the intention of engaging in sexual conduct with her. Jackson was arrested by law enforcement at that time. A review of Jackson's cellular telephone conducted subsequent to that arrest revealed ten images of sexual abuse of a young minor female. 

Agents determined Jackson and a co-defendant were sexually abusing a minor.  Acting together, they produced and transmitted via the internet at least ten images of the sexual abuse of the minor victim utilizing digital recording equipment on an Apple iPhone cellular telephone. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

ST. LOUIS – Briran Blake, 30, of St. Clair County, Illinois appeared before United States District Court Judge John A. Ross on today’s date and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  On September 17, 2021, a jury found Blake guilty of two counts of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. 

On June 9, 2017, Briran Blake entered a Regions Bank on Hampton Avenue in St. Louis, presented a demand note to the teller, and escaped with almost $2,000 in cash.  13 days later, on June 22, 2017, Briran Blake entered a Regions Bank on South Broadway in St. Louis, presented a demand note, and brandished a firearm at the bank teller before escaping with over $4,200 in cash.  Blake was indicted in August 2019 following analysis of the demand notes and identification of Blake as the suspect by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Crime Laboratory.

The court, based upon Blake’s criminal history, sentenced Blake pursuant to the career offender provision of the United States Sentencing Guidelines. 

This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Jason Dunkel and Donald Boyce prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States

ST. LOUIS – Demario Hunter of East St. Louis, Illinois, appeared before United States District Court Judge John A. Ross today.  Hunter pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for an attempted carjacking in the city of St. Louis during which the victim was shot and killed.  Hunter was previously charged by criminal complaint on September 6, 2019. 

According to the plea agreement, on March 18, 2019, Hunter, accompanied by two co-defendants attempted to carjack James A. Sapone of his 2013 Ford Escape near the intersection of Cherokee and Iowa in the city of St. Louis.  A struggle ensued and Hunter shot and killed Sapone during the commission of the attempted carjacking. 

Cases for the two co-defendants are pending before the court. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – Denzel Houston of St. Louis, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig yesterday afternoon and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. Houston previously pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime in November 2021.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, on July 25, 2019, St. Louis Metropolitan Police were on patrol in the Clinton Peabody Housing Complex, when officers saw a silver Nissan Maxima that had bullet holes in its hood. Police observed Houston flee the Nissan upon seeing their police vehicle. Houston was briefly detained by police, determined to be the sole occupant of the vehicle and released. An in-depth search of the Nissan, subsequent to Houston’s release, revealed a pistol and methamphetamine in excess of 335 grams.

On September 10, 2019, in the 8500 block of Katherine Avenue, in St. Louis County, ATF agents, along with St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officers, observed Houston enter a parked Lexus. As officers approached, Houston struck the patrol vehicle with the Lexus. Houston was taken into custody and a subsequent search of the Katherine Avenue residence revealed a .40 caliber pistol, additional methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia related to the distribution of illegal narcotics.

This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ST. LOUIS – On December 8, 2021, a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed charging Bruce Franklin and Kristie Meeks with the armed robberies of several cellular telephone stores located in the city of St. Louis.  Both suspects are in custody. 

According to court documents, Franklin is charged in a 13-count indictment of robbing five cellular phone stores in St. Louis.  Meeks is charged in two of the robberies.  The dates and locations of the incidents are:

• On August 26, 2021, the Boost Mobile at 3636 Page Blvd
• On September 4, 2021, the T-Mobile at 4167 Lindell Blvd
• On September 10, 2021, the Boost Mobile at 3636 Page Blvd
• On September 17, 2021, the MetroPCS at 3949 Lindell Blvd
• On September 20, 2021, the T-Mobile at 4167 Lindell Blvd

Franklin was charged with five counts of robbery, five counts of brandishing a firearm during the robberies, and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Meeks was charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during the robberies.

Charges set forth are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Carmain Milton for three carjackings in the city of St. Louis that occurred in September 2021.  One of the three carjackings resulted in the death of a 72-year-old man. 

According to the indictment, on or about September 21, 2021, in the City of St. Louis, within the Eastern District of Missouri, Milton with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, took from the victim by force, violence, and intimidation a 1998 Toyota Camry. 

On or about September 28, 2021, Milton with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, took from the victim by force, violence, and intimidation a 2016 Audi A6. 

That same day, Milton with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, took from the victim by force, violence, and intimidation a 2004 Honda Element, resulting in the death of the victim. 

Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted after consultation and cooperation from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office.

ST. LOUIS – Mark R. Driscoll of Hayden, Idaho appeared before United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on today’s date. Driscoll pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography. Driscoll was previously indicted by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2021.

According to the plea agreement, on or about March 4, 2017, Driscoll, utilizing a peer-to-peer program, distributed at least one video file containing child pornography to an investigative detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

A search warrant was obtained by law enforcement for Driscoll’s residence and executed on June 22, 2017. Electronic items belonging to the Driscoll were seized into evidence. An examination of the seized items revealed Driscoll possessed on various electronics over fourteen hundred images and over twenty videos of minors engaged in a lascivious display of their genitals and/or engaged in sexual acts which he had downloaded from the internet via computers and electronic devices.

This case was investigated by an FBI St. Louis Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force member from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk accepted a plea of guilty from former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Brad Stephens for 3 counts of Mail Fraud by obtaining taxpayer moneys from the Tower Grove South Concerned Citizen Special Business District (“Tower Grove South”) by means of material false representations.  Sentencing is scheduled for March 11, 2022. 

According to the plea agreement, Stephens was employed as a police officer by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (“SLMPD”) in St. Louis, Missouri, and had been employed by the SLMPD since October 6, 2014. 

Tower Grove South was established to provide special police and/or security for the protection and enjoyment of the property owners and the public within the district.  The administration and operations of the business district are taxpayer funded. City Wide Security (“CWS”) is a private company that contracts with businesses and organizations to provide private security patrols.  CWS contracted to provide security patrols in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood beginning during 2010.  

Stephens was employed by CWS beginning in approximately 2015 to work during some of his off-duty hours to patrol the Tower Grove South Neighborhood.  Stephens falsely represented to CWS certain days and shifts he agreed to work as part of the CWS security patrol in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood when, in fact, Stephens did not actually work those assigned days and shifts.  During 2018, Stephens falsely represented that he worked 93 days, and during 2019, Stephens falsely represented that he worked 76 days.  CWS was paid approximately $50,000 by the Tower Grove South organization based upon Stephens’ false representations, all taxpayer funds. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Four Defendants Prosecuted in Eastern District of Missouri

St. Louis – As part of the nationwide Money Mule Initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service released a new video about the legal consequences of being a money mule. This video is based on a current local case.

The nationwide Money Mule Initiative is a coordinated operation to disrupt the networks through which transnational fraudsters move the proceeds of their crimes. Money mules are people who assist fraudsters by collecting money from victims of fraud and forwarding it to the fraud organizers, many of whom are located overseas. Some money mules know they are helping fraudsters, but others are unaware that their actions enable fraudsters’ efforts to swindle money from consumers, businesses, and government unemployment funds.

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the results of the initiative, where enforcement action was taken in every state over 90 days. Specifically, 4,750 actions were taken against money mules, including approximately 540 interviews, nearly a dozen administrative or civil actions, recovery of $3.7 million in fraud proceeds, and 30 individuals were arrested/charged. 

To find public education materials, as well as information about how fraudsters use and recruit money mules, please visit https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/money-mule-initiative

The charges announced today are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vthPmLORVrM

ST. LOUIS – Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted Danial Jeloudar and Saeeid Safaei for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both defendants are Iranian nationals believed to be living abroad.

This is the first cryptojacking case to be prosecuted in the Eastern District of Missouri. “Cryptojacking has nothing to do with whether a victim owns cryptocurrency,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division. “It’s about criminals hijacking the use of your computer’s processing power to generate and cash out cryptocurrency.”

Cryptojacking is when cyber criminals fraudulently gain access to a victim’s device to use its computing power to generate or “mine” cryptocurrency. Computing power is needed for a virtual master ledger that uses complicated algorithms to verify and record cryptocurrency transactions. Individuals or groups can dedicate their computer power and be rewarded with cryptocurrency.

According to court documents, both defendants conspired to victimize a technology company in St. Charles, Missouri by fraudulently gaining access and using the company’s account on a cloud service. By misrepresenting themselves through the victim company’s account, the defendants fraudulently authorized the cloud service provider to build and install at least five new computer servers in the cloud. The purpose of the new servers was to run and operate software programs to generate cryptocurrency.

The fraud came to light when the victim company received a bill of more than $760,000 from the cloud service provider related to the use of fraudulent servers.

The following cyber security practices can minimize your risk of cryptojacking:

• Two-step authentication will make it harder for criminals to gain access to your online accounts.
• Monitor log-in history to detect suspicious activity early.
• Audit cloud storage to verify contents.

            Charges set forth are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The FBI St. Louis Division investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Bateman handled the case.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey accepted a plea of guilty from Robyn T. Roberts for multiple counts of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and preparing and submitting false tax returns.  A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri indicted Roberts earlier this year on several counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax fraud. 

Roberts pleaded guilty on today’s date for two counts of wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and five counts of tax fraud in connection with her work as a tax preparer at Roberts Tax Professionals.  Roberts is responsible for causing the overpayment of more than $400,000 in tax refunds by preparing fraudulent tax returns.  As part of her scheme, Roberts used stolen social security numbers and fraudulently claimed dependents, education expenses, and business losses on behalf of both herself and other taxpayers.

“Tax preparers have a duty to their clients to prepare complete and accurate tax returns that comply with the law,” said Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, St. Louis Field Office. “IRS-CI’s efforts to investigate and prosecute tax fraud are critical to overall compliance. Our Special Agents play an important role in protecting not only honest taxpayers from criminal activity, but the nation’s revenue as well.”

Sentencing is set for March 3, 2022. 

The case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigations.

ST. LOUIS – On December 1, 2021, federal charges were filed against 58-year-old James Mayes.  Mayes is accused of a robbery on federal territorial jurisdiction, namely the Gateway National Arch Park, and the armed robberies of commercial business establishments that are listed below.   

According to the charging documents, Mayes committed multiple armed robberies; knowingly possessed, brandished, and discharged a firearm, in furtherance of crimes of violence, specifically the robberies; and knowingly possessed a firearm on multiple dates, despite knowing he had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.

The documents include charges related to the incidents described below:

St. Louis City

October 13, 2021-Gateway National Arch Park armed street robbery at 115 Washington Avenue

October 14, 2021-Attempted robbery of a person on Laclede’s Landing

October 17, 2021-Armed robbery of the T-Mobile at 4142 S. Grand

October 20, 2021-Armed robbery of the Smoothie King at 1211 Pine

October 23, 2021-Armed robbery of the Kaiser Mart at 5008 S. Grand

October 26, 2021-Armed robbery of the Crown Food Mart at 300 S. Jefferson

November 3, 2021-Armed robbery of the Gallery Furniture/Home Accents at 310 N. Sixth St.

November 3, 2021-Armed robbery of the Boost Mobile at 1644 S. Jefferson

November 3, 2021-Armed robbery of the Domino’s Pizza at 1428 N. 13th

St. Louis County

October 25, 2021-Armed robbery of the Metro PCS at 6731 Page

November 5, 2021-Armed robbery of the Vapes and Snacks at 8820 Gravois Rd.

November 10, 2021-Armed robbery of the Cricket Wireless at 1084 Lemay Ferry Rd.

Charges set forth are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis County Police Department, Pagedale Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Park Service.

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

ST. LOUIS – Today United States District Court Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. sentenced David Curtis President to 18 years in prison for the crimes of carjacking and firearms offenses for separate carjackings committed on June 28, 2019 and July 29, 2019.  President pleaded guilty to the charges on August 24, 2021. 

According to the plea agreement, President, a 29- year-old resident of St. Louis County, committed two separate carjackings in St. Louis County.  On June 28, 2019, in the 11100 Block of Riaza Square, President took a 2007 Buick Lucerne from the victim at gun point. President was later identified as the carjacker and determined to be in possession of the victim’s pistol, which was in the Lucerne at the time of the carjacking.  On July 29, 2019, at the Petro Mart at 698 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard, President shot two persons and took from them a 2017 Nissan Altima. 

The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the carjacking and firearms offenses.

ST. LOUIS – Mark Hunter of St. Louis, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on today’s date and was sentenced to six months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Hunter previously pleaded guilty for knowingly possessing or receiving one or more firearms that he knew to be stolen.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, on September 25, 2020, the Manchester Police Department seized a pistol that had been reported stolen.  A passenger of Southwest Airlines, who was traveling through St. Louis Lambert Airport previously reported that the firearm was stolen out of his luggage.

Subsequently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Transportation Security Administration (TSA) initiated an investigation and identified seven reported thefts of firearms from luggage checked on Southwest Airlines flights that had traveled through Lambert Airport between March 28, 2020 to August 22, 2020.

During the investigation, which included reviews of scheduling records of Southwest Airline baggage employees and the dates of the thefts of the firearms, Hunter, a baggage employee for Southwest Airlines, became the target of the investigation.  Records indicated that Hunter was working and had access to baggage from which other guns had been reported stolen.  Hunter was approached by agents and admitted to the theft of five firearms from checked luggage he handled in his capacity as a Southwest Airlines baggage handler at St. Louis Lambert Airport. 

This case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Transportation Security Administration.

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk accepted a plea of guilty from Antwan Jones for his role in a carjacking, weapons charges and assaulting a federal officer on November 22, 2021.

A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri indicted Jones in May 2021 for aiding and abetting Paul Latham in carjacking a victim in St. Louis the previous year. According to the plea agreement, Latham stopped his SUV next to the victim on January 15, 2020. Latham waited in the SUV while Jones approached the victim at gunpoint and demanded her purse. The carjacking victim surrendered her purse, which contained the keys to her car. Latham and Jones drove around the area and used the victim’s key fob to locate her Mercedes Benz. Once they found the car parked nearby, Latham used the victim’s keys to drive her car away while Jones drove away in Latham’s SUV.

According to the indictment, Jones was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous conviction. 

Later that night, police tracked the victim’s phone to East St. Louis, Illinois. There, police discovered Latham’s SUV parked in the 1800 block of Boismenue Avenue with the victim’s purse still inside.

Days later as federal authorities arrested Jones, he resisted the attempt and physically assaulted a federal officer.  For his role in the incident, Latham previously entered a plea of guilty in October.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 

ST. LOUIS –Gerald E. Cardwell, Jr. of O’Fallon, Missouri was found guilty by a jury after deliberations yesterday at the conclusion of a four-day trial held at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse.  

Cardwell was charged in 2019 for knowingly and intentionally distributing a controlled substance, that led to the death of an individual from the use of the controlled substance distributed by Cardwell. 

Evidence presented at trial revealed that the victim had picked Cardwell up from the Hollywood Casino Hotel on the night of July 25, 2019.  In the early morning hours of July 26, 2019, Cardwell gave the victim a “special mix” of fentanyl and Adderall, sending text messages to a third-party witness that the victim was “TKO” in the car.  Surveillance video obtained from Hollywood Casino Hotel depicted Cardwell, the victim, and the third-party witness enter the hotel shortly before 2 a.m. The third party left approximately ten minutes later, leaving Cardwell and the victim in the hotel room.  Cardwell departed at 10:00 the following morning.  Housekeeping staff found the victim deceased in the room at approximately 3:15 that afternoon.  Evidence at trial suggested that he had been deceased for 8-10 hours.  The St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim died of fentanyl and ethanol intoxication.  However, two toxicologists testified that the victim’s blood alcohol content at the time of his death was .03.  According to the Medical Examiner, that small amount of alcohol could not have caused the victim’s death.

Cardwell is facing a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on March 3, 2022 at his next appearance in front of United States District Judge John A. Ross. 

The case was investigated by the Maryland Heights Police Department.

ST. LOUIS – Dustin Boone, 37, of St. Louis, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge E. Richard Webber on today’s date.  Boone was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison for aiding and abetting the deprivation of civil rights under color of law of undercover police officer Luther Hall during the 2017 Jason Stockley protests. Boone was found guilty in June after a nine-day trial.  

The evidence during the trial proved that Dustin Boone assisted former police officer Randy Hays in the assault of undercover police officer Luther Hall.  Det. Hall was undercover during the protests following the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley.

Bailey Colletta previously pleaded guilty to making false statements to a federal grand jury and was sentenced to probation.  Randy Hays, who had earlier pleaded guilty to his role in the matter, was sentenced to a 52-month term of imprisonment. Christopher Myers case is still pending. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ST. LOUIS – Ellis C. Brown, III, 32, of High Ridge, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on today’s date.  Brown was sentenced to six years in prison for deprivation of civil rights under color of law.  Brown was previously found guilty after a three-day jury trial in June. 

The evidence during the trial proved that Brown used unreasonable force during an encounter with a victim. In his capacity as a St. Ann police officer, Brown repeatedly kicked the victim who lay prone on the parking lot of a US Bank at the corner of Natural Bridge and Kingshighway in the city of St. Louis. The April 2019 incident was captured on video and followed a lengthy high-speed chase during which Brown and other St. Ann Police Department Officers pursued the victim through rush hour traffic for more than twenty minutes, at times reaching speeds exceeding 115 mph.  Two St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officers intervened to stop Brown’s assault.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Derek Wiseman handled the case.

ST. LOUIS – James Flannel, 37, of St. Louis, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge E. Richard Webber on today’s date.  Flannel was sentenced to life in prison for discharging a firearm in furtherance of a carjacking that resulted in the death of Boris Iouioukine, a Laclede Cab Company driver on June 25, 2018. Flannel previously pleaded guilty on August 2, 2019.

According to the plea agreement, Flannel was in the possession of a nine-millimeter firearm on June 25, 2018.  Flannel called the Laclede Cab Company and ordered a taxi.  A red minivan taxi being driven by victim Boris Iouioukine responded to Flannel’s request.  Flannel got into the taxi armed with the nine-millimeter firearm.  While inside the taxi, Flannel shot and killed Boris Iouioukine in 2500 block of East Dodier within the City of St. Louis.  Boris Iouioukine’s body was left in the street by Flannel.  Flannel drove the taxi after the shooting to the area of Castle Point in Saint Louis County, Missouri.  Flannel parked the taxi at the driveway of a residence in the 10000 block of Duke Drive and fled. 

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department received calls for help relative to a man down in the middle of the street.  Police and the fire department responded and located Boris Iouioukine deceased at the scene.  Victim Boris Iouioukine’s taxi was located by police on the morning of June 26, 2018.  Among other things, a nine-millimeter shell casing was located and seized from the driver’s side floorboard.  Other items were seized from inside the taxi, including a water bottle.  Analysis of the water bottle located Flannel’s print on it.  Flannel was charged by way of federal complaint on June 27, 2018.   

On August 10, 2018, investigators initiated an investigation within Spanish Lake Park to locate and recover the nine-millimeter firearm utilized by Flannel during the armed carjacking and murder.  A search within the park eventually located a Taurus make, Millennium G2 model, nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol.  The firearm was operable and loaded with 13 rounds.  Subsequent ballistic analysis of the firearm confirmed that the shell casing recovered from the within taxi was fired from the nine-millimeter firearm located and seized from within Spanish Lake Park.     

“This sentence is the product of the excellent, collaborative work of our law enforcement officers. Its severity should send a clear message: should you choose to commit such a senseless, violent crime in this region, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said United States Attorney Sayler Fleming following the sentence.  “The community is tired of this abhorrent nonsense. Mr. Iouioukine, a hardworking and valued member of society, left behind family, friends, and co-workers who loved him dearly. We can only hope that the resolution of this matter brings them some comfort and closure.”

“This case demonstrates the importance of using ballistic intelligence to identify those using firearms to commit violent crimes in our community” Fred Winston, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Kansas City Field Division said.  “The comprehensive use of ATF’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) by our state and local law enforcement partners, provides ATF the unprecedented ability to link shootings and other crimes of gun violence based on forensic evidence alone.  ATF will continue to use NIBIN and other crime gun intelligence tools, to identify trigger pullers in St. Louis and hold them accountable for their actions.”

This case was made possible, in part, by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

The St. Louis Metropolitan and St. Louis County Police Departments; United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Metro West Fire Protection District’s Dive/Rescue Response Team investigated this case.