U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced Frederick Butler, 44, to 13 years in federal prison on Tuesday for a June 22, 2025 chase in a stolen Dodge Challenger that ended with a wheel coming off on Forest Park Parkway.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri described the sequence in a release dated Wednesday, Oct. 21. St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers tried to stop the Challenger, and Butler ran red lights and weaved through traffic. The officers crashed during the pursuit, injuring themselves and the occupants of another vehicle.
The route
The release says the Real Time Crime Center found the Challenger near Fourth and Chestnut Streets, in downtown St. Louis. Butler struck a car there and drove away through pedestrians attending a St. Louis Cardinals game.
On Forest Park Parkway a wheel came off the Challenger, and the resulting crash injured the driver of another vehicle. Butler ran on foot and discarded a .40-caliber Glock handgun. A cross-body bag he was carrying held fentanyl capsules and cocaine base…