Cape Girardeau Men Sentenced for Stealing from Gun Store

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man who helped steal a pistol from a Cape Girardeau County gun store to 40 months in prison.

Danaje Raymond Webster and his co-defendant, Dayvion Jyraud Parker, will also have to pay restitution of $1,999. Parker was sentenced in March to 70 months in prison.

On June 17, 2024, Webster, of Cape Girardeau, removed a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol from the display case at a federally licensed firearm dealer in Cape Girardeau County and handed it to Parker. Parker first hid the pistol under his jacket before handing it to Webster, who hid it between Parker's back and the back of Parker's wheelchair. Parker then bought ammunition and a magazine for a different firearm and both men left the store. After store employees noticed the missing pistol, they discovered the culprits by reviewing surveillance video.

On June 25, law enforcement officers performing a court-approved search of a home in Cape Girardeau found Parker, who is a felon, lying on a bed with two pistols between the bed frame and the wall. Both pistols were equipped with auto sears, or "switches," converting them into fully automatic weapons.

Webster, 24, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in July to one count of stealing a firearm from a licensed dealer. Parker, now 22, pleaded guilty in October of 2024 to five felonies: stealing a firearm from a licensed dealer, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of a machine gun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis 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.