East St. Louis teen indicted on carjacking and weapons charges
A 19-year-old man was indicted in the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois on accusations he carjacked a man in downtown St. Louis and shot another man at an apartment complex in East St. Louis during the overnight hours of Aug. 5.
Jamariante N. Burgess has been charged with carjacking and carrying or using a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to the federal indictment, Burgess and at least two friends stole a 2020 BMW 228i near 18th Street and Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis. Three victims told officers at the scene that they were in the area attempting to use the pay-to-ride scooters, which were out of service.
As the 21-year-old owner attempted to connect his cell phone to the car, a black, four-door sedan pulled in front of their parking space to prevent them from driving away.
According to the charging documents, one of passengers said a man later identified as Burgess got out of the back seat of the sedan and pointed a handgun with an attached green laser at the windshield. Burgess took items from one of the passengers as he stepped from the BMW, then pressed his gun to the face of the driver as he demanded the car keys, the indictment states.
Burgess and an accomplice then drove away east on Washington Street, according to the complaint.
Surveillance video, captured by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center, showed the black sedan, a Nissan Sentra, as it arrived in downtown St. Louis. It also had been spotted traveling north on Tucker Boulevard and east across the Stan Musial-Veterans Memorial Bridge.
License plate registration helped investigators identify its owner and led them to his residence in East St. Louis.
Though they did not find the Nissan’s owner at that address, they were able to track him to his girlfriend’s apartment at the Roosevelt Homes apartments where they found him hiding in a closet, the court documents said. Burgess was located in another apartment, along with a 20-year-old man and two juveniles, all of whom were taken into custody.
Police recovered three handguns under some clothes piled in a basket at the apartment, according to the indictment. They included an unloaded black Stoeger Arms .22 caliber Luger, a Walther model PPX 9mm handgun, and an unloaded 40 caliber handgun equipped with a Baldr Mini green laser site.
Investigators also found a black “man purse” that contained a credit card and an Oregon class c provisional license that belonged to one of the victims of the stolen BMW.
In the meantime, East St. Louis Police notified Illinois State Police of a shooting at the John DeShields apartment complex, 1235 McCasland Avenue that occurred shortly after 3 a.m.
The victim, a 35-year-old male, was shot in the pelvis and transported to St. Louis University Hospital, where he remains on a ventilator, according to the indictment.
According to the criminal complaint, Burgess and the other two in custody admitted that they fired shots into the air, believing the shooting victim was a rival gang member.
At approximately 7:45 a.m., the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force found the stolen BMW near the intersection of North Ninth Street and Gross Avenue in East St. Louis.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Summers is prosecuting the case against Burgess.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 1:39 PM.
