Mobile Barber Bandits Sentenced for 2023 Armed Robbery

ST. LOUIS - Two St. Louis area men have been sentenced for the armed robbery of a mobile barber in Jennings in 2023.

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced Keshaun Smith, 20, of Jennings, to 98 months in prison on charges of robbery and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of the robbery. Smith's co-defendant, Andrew Giles, was sentenced September 19 to 105 months in prison for the same offenses.

According to court documents, on May 8, 2023, the victim, who was a "mobile barber," went to a home on Garesche Avenue to cut Smith's hair. When the victim arrived at the home to give the haircut, Smith met the victim outside as he parked his red car.

Approximately 15 minutes later, while the victim was cutting co-defendant Keshaun Smith's hair inside the home, co-defendant Andrew Giles arrived on Garesche Avenue, parked his car on the street, and exited carrying what appeared to be a pistol.

As the victim finished cutting Smith's hair roughly 90 minutes later, Giles and a second co-defendant entered the room where the haircut was occurring. Smith picked up a firearm belonging to the victim and the three defendants robbed the victim of his possessions. During the robbery the victim was struck across his face/forehead area, sustaining a frontal skull fracture. The victim was able to flee the location and subsequently called police.

Smith was seen after the robbery walking on Garesche Avenue openly carrying a firearm believed to have been stolen from the victim.

The St. Louis County Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI. Trial Attorney Matthew P. Mattis of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in St. Louis. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute the violent offenders and prevent further violence.