ST. LOUIS — An East St. Louis, Illinois, man was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison for killing a man during an attempted carjacking in St. Louis in 2019.
Demario Hunter pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court prior to the sentencing.
Federal prosecutors say Hunter, 33, and two other men tried to take a 2013 Ford Escape from James Anthony Sapone, leading to a struggle during which Hunter fatally shot Sapone.
They were charged with attempted carjacking resulting in death, murder in the course of a crime of violence and possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Hunter faced an additional charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
St. Louis police said on March 18 James Anthony Sapone was shot and killed near Iowa and Cherokee Street. Investigators said Sapone and a woman were going back to their car parked behind a business when two people tried to rob them.
One of the men charged pulled out a gun and shot Sapone and then ran away. Sapone died at the hospital.
Trials are still pending for the other two suspects.
If convicted, the charges of attempted carjacking resulting in death and murder in the course of a crime of violence carry a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty.
The case was investigated by the FBI and St. Louis police, with help from St. Louis County police and the Illinois Department of Corrections Parole.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
