EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A man accused of using a firearm to rob an East St. Louis convenience store in fall 2023 appeared in federal court Thursday for sentencing.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Vernelle E. Hines, 31, entered the Mega Supermarket on Oct. 31, 2023, brandished a gun and fired the weapon. He then stole two bottles of tequila from the store and fled.
The clerk suffered serious and permanent injuries, prosecutors said. Hines wore a mask at the time of the robbery.
At the time, Hines was on federal supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm for charges in Missouri.
Hines was arrested in Houston, Texas, in January 2024 following a joint investigation by the Illinois State Police’s Public Safety Enforcement Group, along with the U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations in the Southern District of Texas.
Hines pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of carry and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Hines to 20 years in federal prison.