U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel sentenced a man from Florissant, Missouri to 14 years and three months in prison on drug and gun charges.
The investigation into Deandre J. White began with the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy in St. Louis on Feb. 22, 2020, during which White was identified as a suspect, according to a sentencing memorandum filed in court. The boy’s 9-year-old sister was also shot and wounded. The investigation revealed that White was heavily involved in selling fentanyl and guns, the memo says.
Over the course of approximately five months, undercover investigators bought over 30 grams of fentanyl and three firearms, including two high-powered, large-capacity rifles and one pistol with an extended magazine. The defendant was also spotted driving at least two stolen vehicles during the drug transactions.
On social media, White boasted about selling drugs and being a shooter and posted pictures of himself with cash and firearms.
White also faces a pending charge in St. Louis County Circuit Court, where he is accused of shooting two people and three vehicles at his former girlfriend’s apartment complex, the sentencing memo says.
“Investigators were unable to recover the murder weapon, but followed the evidence and were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Deandre White was selling a highly dangerous drug on the streets of St. Louis and equally dangerous firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming. “The investigation resulted in a significant prison sentence, and while state and federal investigators are eager for additional information about the shooting of a kindergartner and his sister, the community will be safer because of the joint efforts of investigators,” she said.
White, now 26, was originally charged by complaint on Aug. 12, 2020, and indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 27, 2020. He pleaded guilty in May to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about White or the shooting should contact the police homicide division at 314-444-5371, or report information anonymously via CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
