Felon Who Threatened Gas Station Employees with Gun Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon who threatened employees of a St. Louis, Missouri gas station with a gun to 100 months in prison.

Richard Skinner, 45, pleaded guilty in December to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted being caught by police with a semi-automatic pistol on March 27, 2023, after a dispute with employees of a gas station in the 1100 block of South Kingshighway Boulevard in St. Louis. The employees told police Skinner threatened them with the gun during a confrontation. They restrained him after a struggle. 

Skinner has prior convictions that include a cocaine conspiracy charge, forgery and robbery, a sentencing memo says.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Goeke is prosecuting 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.