ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man and convicted felon admitted Monday to fatally shooting a woman and injuring another during two separate violent carjackings in 2022.
According to a press release from the United States District Court in St. Louis, Loyse Dozier, 21, pleaded guilty in court to four felonies, including carjacking resulting in death, attempted carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
On July 10, 2022, Dozier said he fatally shot Laruth Jones during a carjacking on the parking lot of Raqqa Mart located at 352 Chambers Road in St. Louis County. Jones was standing near the store's entrance when she saw Dozier, who was wearing a face mask, enter her Mercedes. She confronted Dozer with her gun and the two exchanged fire. Jones was shot and killed.
According to Dozier's plea agreement, he said he picked up Jones' gun before he drove off the mart parking lot in her Mercedes. He said he later set the car on fire in a St. Louis-area alley.
Dozier admitted that on Aug. 1, 2022, Dozier he shot another woman during an attempted carjacking on a Walgreens parking lot located at 1400 North Grand Boulevard in St. Louis. Dozier, once again wearing a mask, walked onto the parking lot and opened the door of the victim’s Kia Optima and ordered the driver out. She complied and handed her keys to him. Dozier shot the woman twice before he entered her Kia, according to his plea agreement.
An off-duty Florissant Police Department officer, who was working as a security guard inside the Walgreens, ran outside after the shooting. The officer scared Dozier away, causing Dozier to leave his phone behind inside the Kia.
About a week later, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers saw Dozier at a gas station at West Florissant and Adelaide avenues. Dozier ran and threw a handgun and a bag before officers caught and arrested him. Officers found 5.76 grams of fentanyl inside the bag. When Dozier was arrested, officers also found 25 plastic baggies of cocaine base in his pocket and a magazine for the handgun.
Officers recovered a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun that he’d stolen from Jones after shooting her. He later used it to shoot the second victim, police said. Dozier, a convicted felon, is barred from having a gun.
Dozier's sentencing was set for March 11, 2024. He faces 32 years in prison, a sentence both sides have agreed to recommend as part of his plea agreement.
