Show-Me State Times

U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Thursday sentenced a man who carjacked a pizza delivery driver and crashed the stolen vehicle after a police chase to 11 years in prison.

According to reports, on July 29, 2022, Jacoby Watts and others carjacked a Domino's Pizza delivery driver in St. Louis, Missouri. A juvenile pointed a gun at the delivery driver and Watts drove the carjacked 2019 Dodge Charger away. Police later tracked the vehicle to East St. Louis. Watts fled, leading police on a chase that ended back in St. Louis when Watts crashed into other vehicles, injuring one of the other drivers.

In the car, police found two ski masks and the loaded .45-caliber Glock 21 that was used in the carjacking. Watts, now 21, of Belleville, Illinois, pleaded guilty in November to one count of carjacking and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Illinois State Police, the East St. Louis Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken prosecuted the case.

A statement from the court indicates that Judge White handed down the 11-year sentence to Watts for his involvement in the violent carjacking incident.