A two-week crime spree across south St. Louis has ended with a long stretch in federal prison. On Monday, June 8, 2026, a judge sentenced a St. Louis man to nearly 16 years after what prosecutors describe as a chaotic run of armed robberies, a car theft and an exchange of gunfire last fall. They say the string of crimes began with a domestic confrontation and wrapped only after investigators followed the trail of stolen property to a search warrant.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced 29-year-old Corey M. Felton to 189 months in prison. Felton had pleaded guilty in October to one count of robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The office said he was also ordered to pay about $1,800 in restitution to the victims.
Prosecutors say the spree started on Nov. 27, 2024, when Felton grabbed a woman's handgun and took off with her belongings. The next day, according to local reporting from First Alert 4, he robbed a man he met on Grindr in a south St. Louis alley, taking a wallet with $1,200 in cash. On Dec. 2, prosecutors say, he used the app to lure another man, forced him to send $600 via Cash App and then stole an Xbox, a Nintendo Switch and a phone.
Prosecutors Say The Spree Endangered Neighbors
In a sentencing memo filed in court, prosecutors argued that the robberies and the later shootout unfolded "in a densely populated area of St. Louis" and jeopardized "the safety and well-being of countless individuals." The memo said Felton "lacks any respect for the law and poses a significant risk of danger to the public," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Investigators from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recovered the stolen handgun and other property during a court-approved search.
Legal Note
Federal gun laws added teeth to the case. Brandishing or using a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime brings extra mandatory prison time under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), while being a felon in possession of a firearm is a separate federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the prosecution was handled as part of a broader push to curb violent, gun-related crime, with federal agents and local police teaming up on the investigation. Reporting from First Alert 4 outlines the detailed timeline that prosecutors leaned on at sentencing.
