A registered sex offender from Franklin County, Missouri, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp delivered the sentence on Tuesday.
Leroy Richard Walker Jr., 54, pleaded guilty in April to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The case stems from an incident on November 25, 2022, when Walker fired a shot from a pistol after what he believed was an aggressive driving maneuver by another driver as they exited Interstate 44 in Eureka, Missouri.
Authorities also investigated Walker twice for violating sex offender restrictions that prohibit him from being near schools and school bus stops. On November 28, 2023, he approached and spoke with two children waiting at a bus stop in Franklin County. In another incident on May 14, 2024, Walker stopped his car in front of a high school and spoke with a 16-year-old girl waiting for the school bus. He offered her a ride home and dropped her off at a commercial business; during the ride he put his arm around her. According to authorities, the victim said she entered Walker’s vehicle because she felt pressured and feared he could harm her.
Walker has prior felony convictions that include first-degree assault, attempted forcible rape, armed criminal action, burglary, tampering, stealing a motor vehicle and escape.
The investigation was conducted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Pacific Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.”
