Belleville teen indicted in armed robbery ring is sentenced in Missouri federal court
A Belleville man indicted on armed robbery charges in Illinois federal court has been sentenced for separate charges he faced in a Missouri federal court.
Timothy Blassingame, 19, was sentenced to serve 7 years in federal prison on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri.
Blassingame pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in July. He was initially charged with two counts of each. The indictment stemmed from an incident on May 31, 2018, according to U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Jensen’s office.
According to court documents, Blassingame and another man, Andre King, approached a man sitting in his 2003 Trailblazer at 1401 Chouteau Ave. in St. Louis. The news release from Jensen’s office stated King pointed a revolver at the man in the car, ordering him out. Blassingame and King then took the man’s cell phone and drove off in the Trailblazer.
Later that same day, East St. Louis police tried to stop the stolen Trailblazer, which led to a high-speed chase from East St. Louis and into St. Louis. According to the release, Blassingame and King rammed a police car during the pursuit, which ended after the Trailblazer crashed near Jennings Station Road in North St. Louis County.
Blassingame and King attempted to flee on foot, but were taken into police custody, the release stated. Blassingame was 17 years old at the time of the crime.
Blassingame’s sentence is to be served consecutively to any sentence he receives from the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois.
On Jan. 7, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Illinois indicted Blassingame with three counts of armed robbery interfering with interstate commerce and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
That 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.
King, Blassingame’s co-defendant in both indictments, pleaded guilty to two Missouri charges related to the crimes on March 11, and six Illinois charges on Dec. 19. He was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison on the Missouri federal charges but has not been sentenced in Illinois.
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