ST. LOUIS — A U.S. district judge sentenced a Warren County man to 30 years in prison for attempting to kill a federal officer.
Elijah Moore, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to kill a federal officer, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of carjacking.
On July 29, 2019, an officer with the U.S. Marshals Service went to a home in Wentzville to assist the St. Charles County Police Department in an attempt to locate a suspect in a Warren County home invasion.
The officer noticed a vehicle matching the description of a vehicle taken during the home invasion robbery. The St. Charles County SWAT team arrested two people at the home. One of the arrestees told officers Moore had fled from the residence and tried leaving in the stolen vehicle, but it became stuck in the mud.
A nearby homeowner later reported that his home had been burglarized and several firearms, ammunition and a vehicle were stolen. The U.S. Marshal officer and a St. Charles County Police Department detective who was assisting in the operation located Moore later that day. He was a passenger in a blue Ford Mustang driven by a woman.
The Mustang fled from officers at a high rate of speed until it stopped in a gravel parking lot. Moore jumped from the vehicle and fired multiple shots at the officers. Since the driver of the blue Mustang screamed that there were children in the vehicle, the officer and detective did not return fire.
Moore escaped through the woods while continuing to shoot at officers and stole a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, fleeing the scene.
He eventually crashed the vehicle and a gun-battle between Moore and the officers ensued. Officers managed to strike Moore in the leg and took him into custody.
Crime scene investigators found nearly two dozen bullets and a revolver containing three fired cartridges and three unfired bullets at the scene.
