Two St. Louis Area Men Sentenced to Prison for Methamphetamine, Gun Crimes

ST. LOUIS – Two men caught with 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine, four guns and more than $7,500 in cash were each sentenced in U.S. District Court this week to more than 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Thursday sentenced Deandre Q. Brett, 26, of St. Louis, to 138 months in prison.

Judge White sentenced Robert K. Kinney, 24, of Berkeley, in St. Louis County, on Wednesday to 130 months.

Kinney originally attracted the attention of St. Louis County Police officers when he sped away from a police vehicle on July 28, 2021, passing other vehicles in the center turn lane, according to plea agreements by Kinney and Brett and court documents. After officers used a spike strip on the white Kia Forte Kinney was driving, he kept driving until the car began to slide off the road on four flat tires.

Kinney got out holding a Glock pistol with an extended capacity magazine and ran away from officers. He was arrested and police found $3,792 in cash, drugs and ammunition in a bag he carried. Brett was arrested at the Kia. Officers found a stolen Glock pistol in the car, as well as a SKS Interarms Hellpup semi-automatic rifle, an Arsenal SAM7K semi-automatic rifle and three packages containing a total of 1.3 kilograms of meth. Brett’s bag held two Glock magazines, $3,796 in cash and marijuana.   

Kinney and Brett both pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.