ST. LOUIS – A Black Jack, Missouri, man was convicted in federal court Thursday for committing five armed robberies in Missouri and Illinois in 2023.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Ronald O. Perkins, 29, robbed three gas stations, a convenience store, and a liquor store between Sept. 8 and Nov. 17, 2023.
Perkins was armed in each of the robberies and stole cash from each business. He often banged his gun on the counter while demanding money or pointed the firearm at store clerks. He also fired the gun during the first robbery.
Investigators obtained surveillance video from each robbery. They later found clothes worn by the robber at Perkins’ home and in one of the vehicles he used to commit the robberies. A distinctive scar on Perkins’ hand matched a scar on the robber’s hand. The firearm used in the first robbery was a ballistic match for a gun found in Perkins’ possession. Police and prosecutors also said Perkins left an electronic trail from his home to each robbery.
Jurors found Perkins guilty of four counts of robbery, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony.
Perkins will be sentenced on July 3. He faces at least 31 years in federal prison and upwards of life imprisonment.