Sayler A. Fleming, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney' Office for the Eastern District of Missouri
Sayler A. Fleming, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney' Office for the Eastern District of Missouri
A St. Louis County man has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for a series of armed robberies committed across Missouri and Illinois in 2023. U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk delivered the sentence to Ronald O. Perkins, aged 30, from Black Jack, Missouri.
Perkins was found guilty of conducting five separate armed robberies, during which he often wielded a handgun, fired shots, and intimidated employees by banging the gun on counters or pointing it at them. His first robbery took place at a gas station and convenience store on Riverview Drive in St. Louis on September 8, 2023. During this incident, he fired multiple shots when an employee attempted to intervene.
On November 8 of the same year, Perkins robbed another gas station located on Clayton Road in Richmond Heights and subsequently stole cash and cigarettes from a nearby 7-Eleven less than two hours later. Further robberies occurred four days after that on Fee Fee Road in St. Louis County and five days later at a liquor store on St. Louis Road in Collinsville, Illinois.
Evidence presented at Perkins' trial included surveillance footage linking him to all five incidents and a firearm recovered from his possession that matched the ballistics of the weapon used during his initial robbery.
Judge Pitlyk remarked that the evidence against Perkins was "overwhelming." Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Drake emphasized the severe consequences associated with violent crimes involving firearms: “Use of a firearm during a crime of violence can subject you to a sentence of seven years in prison consecutive to any other charge.”
Drake further commented on Perkins' actions: “Perkins fired multiple shots during one of the robberies and held employees at gunpoint," noting that these acts netted him $1,650 but left nine employees and two customers traumatized.
Perkins was convicted by jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on multiple charges including four counts of robbery and various firearms offenses related to crimes of violence.
The investigation involved several law enforcement agencies including police departments from St. Louis County, St. Louis Metropolitan area, Collinsville, Richmond Heights as well as Columbia (Illinois) Police Department and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Bluestone and Tiffany Becker under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through community collaboration.
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