A Florissant man is behind bars on a $200,000 cash-only bond after police say he and a group of accomplices staged a rear-end collision to rob a driver at gunpoint, then led officers on a high-speed chase that topped 90 mph through a residential area before ending in St. Louis city. DeWayne Woods now faces charges including attempted first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, aggravated fleeing, stealing a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.
According to FOX 2, the incident began on July 22 when Woods and others riding in a Jeep struck the rear of a Volvo S60. When the Volvo driver pulled over and got out of the car, Woods and his cohorts allegedly emerged from the Jeep with guns and demanded money, but the driver refused to hand over cash or property and fought back against the armed group. A Florissant police officer arrived and saw the fight unfold, activating emergency lights as Woods and another suspect fled in the victim's stolen Volvo.
The tactic echoes what law enforcement agencies nationally call a “bump and rob” scheme, in which suspects deliberately stage minor collisions to lure drivers out of their vehicles before robbing or carjacking them at gunpoint, according to WBIR-TV. Police in such cases generally advise drivers involved in a suspicious crash to keep their doors locked and call 911 rather than step outside. Hoodline reported on a similar scheme just days earlier, when an armed duo sideswiped drivers across Queens to steal luxury cars and watches.
A Chase That Topped 90 MPH
The first pursuit was abandoned, but the officer soon spotted Woods riding in the stolen Volvo and pursued again, according to the same report. That second chase reached speeds over 90 miles per hour through a residential area before Woods drove into St. Louis city, where the officer once again broke off the pursuit for safety reasons. Cross-jurisdictional chases like this one create coordination challenges as suspects cross from suburban St. Louis County into the city, per public safety notes from the DeBaliviere Place Special Business District.
At some point during the chase, Woods left behind his accomplice and fled in another car. Police later located him and another suspect trying to leave the area in that vehicle. Investigators say they identified Woods from a goodbye video he recorded during the pursuit, in which he said he could not “shake [the police] no more” and added that he was “sorry.”
Facing Decades Behind Bars
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged Woods with attempted first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, aggravated fleeing, stealing a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. Under Missouri law, first-degree robbery is a Class A felony punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison when a suspect forcibly steals property while armed with or displaying a deadly weapon, according to FindLaw. The armed criminal action charge adds further exposure, since a conviction carries a mandatory minimum three-year sentence that must run consecutively to any underlying felony term, with no chance of probation or parole during that minimum stretch, per the Hartley Law Firm.
The aggravated fleeing charge stems from Missouri's “Valentine's Law,” enacted in August 2024 and named for St. Louis County Police Detective Antonio Valentine, who died in a 2021 pursuit crash. The statute created a specific felony offense for high-speed driving that creates a substantial risk of serious injury or death, according to Missouri's state government. A Class D felony conviction under that law requires a mandatory minimum of at least one year in prison before a defendant becomes eligible for probation, parole or conditional release.
Court Dates Ahead
Woods is set to appear in court this week in Clayton, Missouri. He has a bond reduction hearing scheduled for Thursday, August 27, followed by a preliminary hearing set for September 10. It remains unclear whether the accomplice who was with Woods in the Jeep, or the second suspect found with him near the end of the chase, have faced any charges, and the recovery status of the victim's stolen Volvo has not been reported.
The case adds to a string of recent felony prosecutions involving Florissant residents. Earlier this year, Hoodline covered a fatal Florissant robbery attempt that also resulted in charges, and this month reported on a Florissant man who admitted to setting fires at a Ferguson motel while guests slept. Florissant is St. Louis County's largest municipality, spanning 12.8 square miles and home to more than 50,000 residents, according to Wikipedia — a dense suburban footprint that traffic safety officials say makes high-speed pursuits especially dangerous. The city's Traffic Safety Unit investigated 43% of the 1,472 total vehicle crashes reported within Florissant during 2025, per the Florissant Police Department's own annual report.
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