Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri man to 23 years and 10 months in prison for shooting at police and federal task force officers in 2021.

On March 18, 2021, Derek D. Brown fired multiple times at police officers, including those deputized as federal task force officers, who were at his sister’s home. He continued to fire through the home’s screen door and then through the closed front door before eventually surrendering.

Officers were present because earlier that morning, Brown had confronted his wife at a house in St. Louis County and took his wife’s daughter’s .45-caliber pistol. Responding officers learned about the gun and that Brown had an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. Relatives informed police that he would likely go to his sister’s house.

Brown, 50, of Jennings, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February to one count of assault on a federal officer and two counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by bringing together all levels of law enforcement and community organizations to make neighborhoods safer. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on fostering trust and legitimacy in communities, supporting community-based violence prevention organizations, setting focused enforcement priorities, and measuring results.