ST. LOUIS – Najee Neal, 30, of St. Louis, Missouri, appeared before United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on today’s date for sentencing. Neal previously pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison for carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of that crime, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Pursuant to the plea agreement and statements made in court, on February 27, 2020, Neal approached the driver of a car parked in a Kirkwood, Missouri driveway. Neal ordered the driver out of the car at gunpoint, and forcibly took the driver’s wallet and key fob. Neal then ordered the victim to the ground and drove away in the victim’s car.
Kirkwood Police attempted to pull over the stolen car as Neal drove on Interstate 44. However, Neal began weaving in and out of traffic while reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, and the Kirkwood Officers were unable to stop the car. Officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spotted the victim’s car about 45 minutes later near the intersection of North Grand and Lindbergh Boulevards. SLMPD officers activated their lights and sirens and tried to stop the car. Neal, again, fled at a high rate of speed while violating traffic signals and driving onto sidewalks. The car became disabled and Neal got out of the car and ran from SLMPD officers. Officers followed Neal into a gangway and noticed him reaching toward a porch of a home. Fearing Neal was retrieving a weapon, an officer ordered Neal to stop and show his hands. Neal ignored the officer and began to walk away from the porch. Officers arrested Neal a short distance away. Officers found a Glock 19 pistol on the porch of the home. A search of the gangway revealed a magazine loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition fitting the Glock 19 pistol. The victim identified the Glock 19 pistol as the gun Neal pointed at him during the carjacking.
Previously, on September 28, 2019, officers with the St. Louis County Police Department arrested Neal after observing what appeared to be a hand-to-hand drug sale between Neal and another individual on the parking lot of a market in the 12000 block of Bellefontaine Road. Officers recovered a loaded pistol from Neal’s car.
Prior to September 28, 2019, Neal was convicted of at least one felony crime.
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