A St. Louis man, Brandon Terry, has been sentenced to a stint of seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping and an attempted escape while brandishing a makeshift knife at a city juvenile detention center counselor back in 2021, the resolution comes via a plea agreement that involved the dropping of three other charges against him, according to 22nd Judicial Circuit Court.
It was in the throes of an otherwise unremarkable day on July 15, 2021, when the then 18-year-old Terry put into motion the act that would soon escalate to a scene of distress; he held a counselor at the St. Louis Family Court's juvenile detention center at knife-point, all this by concealing the weapon beneath his shirt, striving to compel her to leave with him, according to 22nd Judicial Circuit Court. In a further act of intimidation, Terry took hold of the counselor's hair as she attempted to evade the situation, his hand wielding a threat of violent intent with a promise to use the blade if she resisted.
The situation, fraught with peril was soon diffused by the quick response of other detention center staff, where their timely intervention led to the disarming of Terry and the preservation of safety within those walls. This detail among others paints the day of the incident as an undeniable testament to the courage of those who daily wade through society's undercurrents, keeping at bay the ever-possible descent into chaos.
Terry's legal journey, stretching from the point of his custody over three years ago now, culminates in the recent court sentencing - where Judge John T. Bird of the St. Louis Circuit Court handed down the decision that had been suspended in the balance until the acceptance of the plea and Terry, bearing case number 2122-CR01156-01 would soon turn to face the leaden journey of incarceration, already hallmarked by the time he has spent in the custody of the state, which accounts for over three years of credit toward his seven-year sentence as reported in detail by 22nd Judicial Circuit Court.
