Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri, admitted on Thursday to committing the armed robbery of a convenience store in Jefferson County in 2023.

Matthew Ortega, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of robbery and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He confessed to pointing a Glock handgun at the clerk of a convenience store and gas station on Hillsboro-House Springs Road in Jefferson County, Missouri, and demanding money from the cash register. Ortega was wearing a motorcycle helmet during the robbery and left on a distinctive Suzuki motorcycle. Three days later, he was involved in an accident while riding the Suzuki and wearing the same helmet and hard knuckle motorcycle gloves he used during the robbery. Police subsequently recovered the gun used in the crime.

Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18. Both sides have agreed to recommend 11 years in prison.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lake prosecuting.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that unites various levels of law enforcement with communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy aimed at strengthening PSN through fostering trust within communities, supporting community-based violence prevention organizations, setting focused enforcement priorities, and measuring results.