JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis man appeared in federal court on Wednesday to be sentenced for a carjacking in Jefferson County that left the victim permanently injured.
The carjacking happened on the evening of May 20, 2020, at the Moto Mart gas station in the 8400 block of Local Hillsboro Road.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Brandon Vandoren and Matthew Carver were driving a stolen 2013 Dodge Dart when they pulled into the gas station.
Vandoren got out of the Dart and into a 2007 Saturn Aura that was in the parking lot. The owner of the Aura ran outside the convenience store and was struck by his own vehicle as Vandoren was driving away. Carver followed in the Dart.
The victim nearly died as a result and was left with permanent brain damage.
Carver was arrested a short time later after crashing the Dart at the on-ramp from Highway M to northbound Interstate 55. Vandoren was arrested the following morning in St. Louis County.
Vandoren pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of carjacking. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 17 1/2 years in federal prison.
Carver previously pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Carver is awaiting sentencing.
