St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 23+ Years for Shooting at Police

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri man who shot at police and federal task force officers in 2021 to 23 years and 10 months in prison. 

On March 18, 2021, Derek D. Brown fired multiple times at police officers, including those who had been deputized as federal task force officers, who were at his sister’s home. He continued to fire through the home’s screen door and then through the closed front door. Brown eventually surrendered.

Officers were there because early that morning, Brown went to confront his wife at a house in St. Louis County. While there, Brown took his wife’s daughter’s .45-caliber pistol. Responding officers learned about the gun and that Brown had an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. Relatives told police that he would probably go to his sister’s house. 

Brown, 50, of Jennings, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February to one count of assault on a federal officer and two counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce 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.