St. Louis County Man linked to Jennings Officer-involved Shooting Charged with Felon in Possession of Firearm

ST. LOUIS – Lawton McKinnies, 31 years old of St. Louis County, is charged being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the criminal complaint, prior to September 1, 2020, St. Louis County Police conducting a fugitive investigation trying to find Dexter McKinnies (brother of defendant), learned the defendant had an active felony warrant for three counts of Assault First-degree and three counts of Armed Criminal Action.

On September 1, 2020, police set-up a meeting with McKinnies’ brother, Dexter, under a plan the brothers would be performing maintenance work on a property in Jennings. When Lawton McKinnies arrived, police arrested him on his felony warrant. Police searched McKinnies and found a weapon in his pocket. Police asked him some questions and McKinnies admitted having possession of the weapon and being a felon.

Police know the weapon found in McKinnies’ pocket is not made in Missouri and the weapon must have traveled in and affecting interstate commerce to have been in McKinnies’ pocket while he was in Missouri

During the course of the investigation, officers discovered McKinnies was previously sentenced to eight years of prison for the offenses of Assault 1^st Degree and Armed Criminal Action.

If convicted, McKinnies faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $250,000. These charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce is handling this case.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.