ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man on Friday admitted committing two separate armed carjackings, including one that victimized a woman in her 70s.
Andre Whitfield, 32, stole a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix at gunpoint on April 21, 2020, from a woman who had given him a ride.
On May 13, 2020, Whitfield took a 2010 Toyota Corolla from a woman in her 70s. The woman’s purse, which contained $700, was in the vehicle when it was stolen. Police later spotted the car, and Whitfield crashed after a high-speed chase.
Police found an AR-15 rifle and a .45-caliber pistol in the car.
Whitfield pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of carjacking and two counts of possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. At his sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 7, he faces at least 14 years in prison, as each gun charge carries a mandatory seven-year sentence consecutive to his other crimes. The carjacking charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
At the time of the carjackings, Whitfield was on supervised release from a 2011 gun case.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Hillsdale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is prosecuting the case.