A St. Louis man, Bradley C. McKinney, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for a string of crimes including a carjacking and robbery that left two victims dispossessed in the early hours of July 29, 2023. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri reported that McKinney, armed with a handgun along with an accomplice, confronted the individuals shortly after they exited their vehicle. The culprits then swiftly took to abscond with the 2015 Chevy Cruze and additional personal items of the victims.
According to law enforcement, the stolen Chevy was found abandoned in East St. Louis, the key still waiting in the ignition. The perpetrators had initially fled alongside associates in a white GMC Terrain. The Real Time Crime Center, attached to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, were able to effectively track down the SUV across state lines into Illinois, leading to McKinney's eventual arrest. Officers used a spike strip to damage strategically the Terrain's tires, halting the escape and confirming McKinney was at the wheel as the sole occupant.
In his possession was found a black Glock handgun, modified to serve as a machine gun by the installation of an 'auto-sear', or 'switch'. "McKinney admitted owning the firearm, knowing that he was a convicted felon and prohibited from doing so," as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. His confession followed a guilty plea in August to charges that included carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a machine gun. These charges have culminated in the pronounced 19-year prison term decreed by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey yesterday.
This case stands as part of the larger Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, a federal program aiming to intertwine all aspects of law enforcement with the communities they serve to broadly reduce violent crime and specifically target gun violence. With principles that advocate to invariably foster trust within communities, support violence-prevention organizations, establish strategic enforcement priorities, and measure tangible results, the project has been vigorous since a strategic revamp in 2021.
