Federal grand jury charges Belleville man in string of armed robberies
A Belleville man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a string of robberies in the metro-east two years ago.
Multiple counts were levied against Timothy Blassingame on Tuesday including three counts of armed robbery interfering with interstate commerce and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
The indictment accuses Blassingame of using a gun to rob two gas stations in Belleville and one gas station in Granite City on May 29, 2018.
Nathan Stump, an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, said Thursday that armed robbery cases can be taken beyond the state level and to the federal level when prosecutors feel they can prove the crimes impacted interstate commerce.
The statute that allows for this is usually used in cases with organized crime or when the crimes follow a pattern, Stump said.
According to a Fox 2 report from June 2018, Blassingame and another man, Andre King, stole a Ford Escape SUV on 14th Street and Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis the day before.
Police told the TV station at the time that the same vehicle was used in armed robberies just hours later at the Circle K stores at 8300 Old St. Louis Rd. and 5904 Old St. Louis Rd. in Belleville and the 7-Eleven store at 1151 Niedringhaus Ave. in Granite City.
St. Louis police also connected Blassingame and King to another St. Louis carjacking from May 31, 2018, in which a Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV was stolen, according to charging documents.
On March 14, 2019, Blassingame was charged with two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing a firearm in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He pleaded guilty to two of those charges on July 18, 2019, and will be sentenced on Jan. 29, according to federal court documents.
Stump said he could not comment on why it has taken more than a year and a half for the federal charges to be brought in Illinois. He said Blassingame is in federal custody.
Blassingame’s co-defendant, Andre King, pleaded guilty to two Missouri charges related to the crimes on March 11, 2019, and six Illinois charges on Dec. 19. He has yet to sentenced in either state.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 10:06 AM.
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