Dwight Byrd, a 59-year-old man from St. Louis with prior felony convictions, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for threatening a 7-year-old child with a firearm. Byrd admitted to being a felon in possession of a gun when he pointed the weapon at the child in September 2023. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, witnesses reported that Byrd used the gun during the incident.
After the confrontation, Byrd briefly fled from police before returning to his home, changing clothes, and surrendering. A search of his residence uncovered a loaded 9mm handgun near the stairs, a .38 special revolver, and additional ammunition. At the time, Byrd was on parole for a state drug offense. In court, he acknowledged that prosecutors could prove he pointed the gun at the child by a preponderance of the evidence.
The child’s mother described ongoing distress in a letter to U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey. Court records also noted Byrd’s criminal history, which includes at least three prior incidents involving firearms.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted it under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through coordinated law enforcement and community efforts.
