A man involved in three carjackings in St. Louis in 2022 has been sentenced to over 26 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp handed down a 319-month sentence to Jaylen Mays, 28, on Tuesday.
According to evidence presented at a March trial, Mays committed his first carjacking less than six months after being released from parole for a previous offense. The court heard that he was involved in three separate carjackings within an eight-day period.
On November 5, 2022, Mays and others stole a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu from the downtown business district. Six days later, on November 11, Mays and Quinn Turner took a 2007 Chevrolet Impala at gunpoint.
Two days after that incident, Turner drove the stolen Malibu with Mays and a juvenile to a gas station at Russell Boulevard and South 7th Street in the Soulard neighborhood. There, according to trial testimony, a juvenile riding with them carjacked a 2017 GMC Terrain and stole the driver’s wallet. Police used spike strips to stop the Malibu as it left the gas station and arrested Turner, Mays, and the juvenile.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin noted in a sentencing memorandum: "carjackings create a real fear in the surrounding community and dissuade local residents from visiting the areas where the crimes occur."
Both Turner and Mays are from East St. Louis, Illinois. They were each convicted of two counts of carjacking with intent to cause death or serious bodily harm and two charges of possession and brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence. Mays faced an additional carjacking charge.
Judge Schelp sentenced Turner, now 23 years old, on July 22 to over 19 years (230 months) in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Martin and Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.
