St. Louis Felon Accused of Pointing Gun at 7-Year-Old Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man accused of pointing a gun at a 7-year-old to 10 years in prison.

Dwight Byrd, 59, pleaded guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Sept. 7, 2023, two witnesses told St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers that Byrd threatened a 7-year-old boy by pointing a black handgun at him and saying that he would "teach him some (expletive) respect."

After officers spotted Byrd, he ran into his nearby home and changed clothes before surrendering. Officers found a loaded black 9mm handgun with a chambered round near the stairs Byrd used to get to his second-story apartment and a .38 special revolver and 9mm ammunition in his apartment. At the time, Byrd was on parole for a state drug offense.

Byrd conceded at Thursday's hearing that prosecutors could prove that he pointed a gun at the child by a preponderance of the evidence.

In a letter to Judge Autrey, the victim's mother wrote that she is not sure what sent Byrd off, adding, "We are all traumatized, and he probably still doesn't care."

In court and in a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj pointed out that Byrd's prior robbery and drug convictions include three other occasions in which he pointed or shot a gun at one or more people.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.