Man Gets 35-Year Term For Shooting, Paralyzing Cardinals Fan
JIM SALTER, Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man who shot and paralyzed a St. Louis Cardinals fan after a 2015 game, heightening concerns about the safety of fans leaving the ballpark, was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison.
Kilwa Jones, 32, pleaded guilty in July to five charges for shooting Army veteran Christopher Sanna and robbing Sanna's girlfriend. The case was heard in federal court because the shooting happened on federal property, near the Old Cathedral. That area is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which also includes the Gateway Arch.
The crime happened after a night game on Sept. 25, 2015, as the couple walked to their car that was parked near the Arch, several blocks from the stadium. Court records show that when Jones confronted the couple, they tried to ignore him and walked away.
Jones shot Sanna in the back, took his girlfriend's purse and rifled through Sanna's pants pockets as he lay on the ground. Surveillance video showed Jones using Sanna's debit card after the robbery.
Jones still faces charges of assault, robbery and armed criminal action related to the crime in St. Louis Circuit Court, and prosecutors have accused him of threatening a witness to stop her from responding to a subpoena and testifying before a grand jury. A hearing to schedule the state trial is set for Dec. 12.
Jones also has pending charges of second-degree domestic assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in St. Louis County.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and first-degree assault in St. Louis County in two separate cases and received probation, shock time behind bars and house arrest. He later violated his probation and went to prison. He also was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraudulent use of a credit card in St. Louis.
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