ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Friday sentenced a man who was caught with a gun after a violent attack on his girlfriend to 12 years in prison.
On July 11, 2022, Justin L. Collins took his then-girlfriend’s phone and cash and refused to let her out of the car during an argument. When she tried to get out, Collins threatened her at gunpoint, his plea agreement says. He punched her in the face and pistol-whipped her before driving her to a park where his sister and another woman assaulted her.
During the resulting investigation, when St. Louis County Police Department officers found Collins and approached the car he was driving, Collins attempted to run away, but was caught and arrested. Police found a 9mm handgun in plain view between the driver’s seat and center console in the vehicle. Collins is a felon and is thus barred from possessing a firearm.
Collins, now 31, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in January to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
