St. Louis Felon Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison After Being Caught with Firearms Repeatedly

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon who was repeatedly caught with firearms to 87 months in prison.

Darrion Boyd-Barnes, 29, was caught with guns on three occasions after traffic stops. On Sept. 22, 2022, he was stopped by St. Louis police in a vehicle with an expired temporary tag. After officers discovered that he had given them a false name and had an active arrest warrant, they arrested him and found a loaded Glock 29 10mm pistol.

On April 16, 2025, Boyd-Barnes was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for having an improper license plate. He had an active arrest warrant and officers found a loaded Palmetto State Armory Dagger 9mm handgun.

On Nov. 12, 2025, St. Louis police pulled Boyd-Barnes over in a Jeep after he ran three stop signs. When officers asked him to get out of the Jeep, he sped off to his girlfriend's house in St. Louis County, triggering a standoff involving multiple police agencies. Boyd-Barnes refused multiple times to leave the house and then escaped. Police found 29 firearms in the home, including AR-style pistols and rifles, a shotgun, multiple stolen pistols and five pistols that had been illegally converted into fully automatic weapons with a machinegun conversion device (MCD).

In court Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D'Agrosa said that since the age of 18, Boyd-Barnes has been undeterred in his repeated unlawful possession of firearms and fleeing from police.

Boyd-Barnes pleaded guilty in August in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D'Agrosa prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice's nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys' offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department's commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump's Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.