U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber on Thursday sentenced a St. Louis man who robbed two cell phone stores in 2019 to 16 years and eight months in prison.
Deangelo Winston, 43, of Jennings, has also become notorious in local jails for misconduct, attacking inmates and guards, making improvised weapons, throwing urine and feces, and damaging property, according to court testimony during Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
On June 21, 2019, Winston pretended to be a customer of the Boost Mobile store at 3956 South Broadway before pulling a pistol, stealing cash and several iPhones, and leaving in a stolen Audi. On August 13, 2019, Winston robbed another Boost Mobile store, at 2253 South Grand Boulevard. One of the employees present at the first robbery was also robbed by Winston at the second store.
Winston offered several stolen phones for sale via Facebook, but an FBI agent spotted the phones and arranged to buy them, confirming that the phones had been stolen in the Boost robbery, court filings show. A search of Winston’s home found two guns.
Winston has 11 prior felony convictions, over half of which involved weapons crimes, court records show.
Winston pleaded guilty in January to two robbery charges and two gun charges. In court Thursday, witnesses said Winston had repeatedly been moved from jail to jail due to his conduct. Winston admitted writing on his cell window with his feces Wednesday but claimed it was because he was unhappy with the conditions in his cell.
In addition to the prison time, Judge Webber ordered Winston to undergo mental health and drug treatment and pay $11,400 in restitution to Boost Mobile.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
