In what has become a staggering outcome of road rage, St. Louis resident John Jacob Ehlinger was given a decade-long prison sentence for a violent altercation with an attorney from the City Counselor’s Office. According to details from a recent St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s press release, Ehlinger was convicted of first-degree assault stemming from the October 2023 incident which left attorney Brian Stokes with severe injuries. The attack, occurring after Stokes honked at Ehlinger for running a red light, involved Ehlinger reversing his truck and assaulting Stokes with 19 strikes.
The court ruling on Friday comes amid Ehlinger’s history of criminal behavior, including convictions for driving while intoxicated and second-degree property damage and also a pending third-degree assault case in St. Louis County, the sequence of events on that fateful evening at 10th and Clark streets has proven that rage can steer the lives of all nearby into peril, as Ehlinger not only assaulted Stokes but also menaced a witness who tried averting further harm. The witness, whose cry for restraint went unheeded, was forced to flee the scene to escape Ehlinger’s aggressive advance.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Michael Ware, who prosecuted the case, emphasized the gravity of the repercussions for Ehlinger’s actions, which have since sown a narrative of dread in the heart of the community where the freedom to commute became a stage for unbridled savagery. A statement from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore underscores this sentiment: “Today’s sentencing holds John Jacob Ehlinger accountable for his violent actions, which left an innocent commuter severely injured and instilled fear in our community. This conviction serves as a reminder that acts of senseless brutality will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”…