Felon Who Sparked Police Chase Through Downtown St. Louis Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon who sparked a police pursuit that led to multiple accidents to 13 years in prison.

Frederick Butler, now 44, was in a stolen Dodge Challenger on June 22, 2025, when he was spotted by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers. Officers tried to stop Butler, but he sped off, running red lights and weaving in and out of traffic. During the pursuit, the officers got into an accident, injuring both the officers and the occupants of the other vehicle.

The Real Time Crime Center found the Challenger near Fourth and Chestnut Streets. Officers again tried to stop Butler, who drove into a car and forced it out of his way before speeding away through pedestrians attending a St. Louis Cardinals game. On Forest Park Parkway, a wheel came off the Challenger, disabling it and causing another accident that injured another vehicle's driver. Butler fled on foot, discarding a .40-caliber Glock handgun before he was arrested. Butler had fentanyl capsules and cocaine base in the cross-body bag he was wearing.

Butler pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in July to three felony counts: possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base and 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 Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.