Feds say metro-east man told woman he would hurt her young son unless she agreed to meet
An East St. Louis man accused of taking a boy from his home and threatening to harm him unless the child’s mother agreed to meet with him has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Marcus L. Weekfall, also known as “Conehead,” 39, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate extortion with a threat to injure. The case was filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois because Weekfall “forcibly” took the 10-year-old boy from his home in Illinois and transported him to St. Louis, according to court documents.
“The defendant targeted a child to mentally and emotionally abuse both the victim and the victim’s mother,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “His actions were calculated and dangerous, thus warranted this prison sentence.”
According to court documents, the child was asleep in bed when Weekfall broke into the mother’s home in the Orr Weathers Apartment Complex in East St. Louis around 4:20 a.m. on May 28, 2022, and demanded the boy and his two sisters leave with him.
The two girls ignored him and went back to bed, according to a detective’s affidavit. The boy said in an interview with police that he went with Weekfall “because he was scared and didn’t want Weekfall to get mad, because when he gets mad, he breaks things and beats his mom,” the affidavit stated.
Weekfall and the child’s mother were previously in a romantic relationship, but Weekfall is not the child’s father, the criminal complaint states.
The mother contacted police after seeing Weekfall on a surveillance camera inside the apartment. Officers with the East St. Louis Police Department contacted Weekfall by phone and requested the child be returned safely, but Weekfall refused.
Weekfall called the mother several times and threatened to harm the child if the mother declined to meet with him. After five hours, Weekfall had another individual return the child to the mother at the MetroLink light rail station at Fifth and Missouri in East St. Louis, the court records say.
“Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is of paramount importance to the FBI and all of law enforcement,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “Due to swift action and coordination with our law enforcement partners, the child was returned safely and Weekfall will spend five years behind bars—giving him ample time to consider the gravity of his actions.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Weekfall will serve three years of supervised release.
FBI Springfield Field Office, the Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) of the Illinois State Police and the East St. Louis Police Department contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Burns prosecuted the case.
This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 12:27 PM.