Metro-east man gets federal prison sentence for armed carjacking in downtown St. Louis
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An Alorton man was sentenced to 10 years and six months in federal prison for an armed carjacking in downtown St. Louis.
According to documents filed in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Charles Stevenson, 20, threatened the owner of a Nissan Altima with a AR 15-style rifle before speeding away in his car shortly after midnight on November 18, 2020.
The victim knelt on the ground at Tucker and Pine streets downtown as he turned over his keys, documents say.
A bystander shot at Stevenson, who ducked behind the Altima before returning fire and using the stolen car to flee the scene.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department later saw the stolen vehicle which led to a high-speed car chase. Stevenson led them across the river to Illinois at high speeds, the court records say. He eventually crashed the car trying to exit the interstate.
Police recovered the weapon, a 5.56 mm caliber semiautomatic rifle with a defaced serial number, from the floorboard of the stolen car. The victim later identified Stevenson.
On April 12, Stevenson pleaded guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated.