Two men from the St. Louis area have been sentenced in connection with the armed robbery of a mobile barber in Jennings in 2023.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Keshaun Smith, 20, of Jennings, to 98 months in prison for robbery and brandishing a firearm during the incident. Smith’s co-defendant, Andrew Giles, received a sentence of 105 months for the same offenses.
Court documents show that on May 8, 2023, a mobile barber went to a home on Garesche Avenue to cut Smith’s hair. Smith met the barber outside as he arrived. About fifteen minutes later, while the haircut was underway inside the house, Giles arrived carrying what appeared to be a pistol.
As the haircut ended roughly ninety minutes later, Giles and another individual entered the room where Smith and the victim were located. Smith then picked up a firearm belonging to the barber, and together with Giles and a third accomplice, robbed him of his possessions. During the robbery, “the victim was struck across his face/forehead area, sustaining a frontal skull fracture.” The victim managed to escape and called police.
Afterward, Smith was seen walking on Garesche Avenue openly carrying what authorities believe was the stolen firearm.
The investigation was led by the St. Louis County Police Department with support from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Matthew P. Mattis of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) along with staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
“This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in St. Louis,” according to officials. “The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute the violent offenders and prevent further violence.”
