A St. Louis County felon who opened fire on police officers during an arrest attempt in 2020 has been handed a 25-year prison sentence, a U.S. District Judge ruled last Friday. Dexter McKinnies, 34, had pled guilty to an array of charges including being a felon in possession of a firearm and assaulting federal officers. The sentencing took place in the chambers of Judge Audrey G. Fleissig, who oversaw the conclusion of a case that stemmed from a violent confrontation with law enforcement officers nearly five years prior.
According to details from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on September 1, 2020, McKinnies shot at members of the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force who were in the process of trying to safely arrest him. McKinnies and his brother, Lawton, were believed to be involved in a series of violent crimes. The officers had set up a ruse meeting with the intent to perform maintenance work on a property as a trap to capture the McKinnies. Lawton McKinnies was quickly arrested upon arrival, but Dexter opened fire from across the street, managing to strike an FBI vehicle. No officers were injured in the incident.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Donald Boyce and Nichole Frankenberg prosecuted the case which was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI. Both Dexter and Lawton McKinnies, each previously convicted felons and prohibited from weapons possession, faced charges aligned with their criminal actions. Lawton McKinnies, now 36, was sentenced to three years in prison for firearm possession, plus an additional year for violating his supervised release.
The announcement of the sentencing was made publicly just days ago and comes as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program designed to unite various levels of law enforcement with the communities they serve. The overarching goal is to reduce violent crime and gun violence, as stated in a strategy launched to strengthen PSN on May 26, 2021. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's official statement, "This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and
