ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis County man was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to spreading the fire that destroyed a 7-Eleven during riots in St. Louis following the death of George Floyd.
Justin Cannamore was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and demonstrating a technique capable of causing injury during civil disorder after he admitted to spreading a fire inside a 7-Eleven.
It happened around 9:30 p.m. on June 1, 2020, as rioters made their way to the store at 17th and Pine Street. This is in the Downtown West neighborhood.
According to a press release from U.S. States Attorney Sayler Fleming, he lit a fire that eventually burned out in the store but also spraying a bottle of lighter fluid that helped spread the fire that eventually burned the store down.
Video showed black smoke and flames coming from the business.
St. Louis firefighters had to put out the fire while, just right around the corner, there were a couple dozen agitators.
More than 55 other businesses were looted or damaged overnight prompting then-Mayor Lyda Krewson to issue a curfew.
Days later, Cannamore was arrested by St. Louis County police while possessing a stolen revolver.
He was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison Thursday. The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
