St. Louis man sentenced for Cahokia armed robberies in 2010

A St. Louis man was sentenced to 27 years in prison for robbing two convenience stores and shooting a customer in 2010.

Derek Marshall, 24, was sentenced Aug. 31 for his role in two robberies at Cahokia convenience stores in June and July of 2010, U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce announced Tuesday in a press release. Marshall and three other men, Terrell McGee, 26, and Leslie Woods, 22, pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 28.

In the June 17 robbery at Best Stop, Marhsall shot a customer laying on the ground with a .40 caliber pistol he had stolen during a burglary of a St. Louis gun store earlier that month, according to the press release. He then shot four times at a woman sitting in her car outside the store before fleeing with the other men.

During the robbery, Marshall, McGee and another man, James Smith, went inside the store while Woods waited in a car they had stolen that day in a carjacking in St. Louis. The three ordered the customer to the ground, pointed a gun at the owner’s head and took over $11,000 from the cash register.

The second robbery occurred July 8 at D&D’s MiniMart, when the four men robbed the store with two rifles and two handguns while another man, Reshdon Farmer, drove the crew in a white minivan they had stolen from North St. Louis earlier that day.

While in the store, the men got behind the counter and demanded money. As the clerk was trying to open the register, “Woods continually pushed the barrel of the rifle against his back until he grabbed the barrel and turned around.”

Woods shot the man three times, injuring the man’s arms, hands and chest. The clerk fell on top of a woman who was lying on the ground. Woods then shot two more shots at both employees and he, Marshall and Smith took cash from the register as the employees laid motionless on the floor. They also took a .40 caliber handgun that belonged to the store owner.

As a result of the shooting, “the male clerk suffered severe injuries and has permanent loss of use of his right arm,” the press release says.

Both robberies were captured on the stores’ video surveillance.

Officers who knew the three men identified them in both robberies, as well as Farmer, after viewing the footage.

McGee was arrested in 2015 and interviewed about the robberies. He admitted to his involvement in both.

After completion of the 27-year term of imprisonment, Marshall will then serve three years of federal supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $727,070 in restitution to the victims and a $600 special assessment.

Woods was sentenced to 30 years in prison and McGee was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this month.

Smith and Farmer were prosecuted for these offenses by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Farmer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed robbery, according to court records.

The release stated Smith is awaiting sentencing.

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 6:44 PM with the headline "St. Louis man sentenced for Cahokia armed robberies in 2010."