Two men recently admitted their involvement in a May 2020 carjacking at a Cedar Hill gas station that left a House Springs man with permanent injuries, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Brandon Vandoren, 29, of Mehlville pleaded guilty on Nov. 8 to carjacking, and Matthew Carver, 31, of St. Louis pleaded guilty on Nov. 13 to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Vandoren is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 5, and Carver is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13, according to court records.
Vandoren faces a prison sentence of up to 25 years, and Carver faces a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to the guilty plea agreement, Vandoren hit Joseph Bates, who was 31 at the time, with a stolen 2007 Saturn Aura outside of the Moto Mart gas station, 8489 Local Hillsboro Road, in Cedar Hill.
Bates, who is now 34, suffered brain injuries, a broken leg, a fractured shoulder and multiple facial fracturs, his fiance, Becky Henley, said on Nov. 14. She said Bates has not been able to return to work as a mechanic since the accident.
“He is still working on things,” Henley said. “He still has pain with his leg injury, and the brain injury is a life-long injury that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life.”
At about 8:30 p.m. May 20, 2020, Carver and Vandoren arrived at the Moto Mart in a stolen 2013 Dodge Dart. Vandoren got out of the Dart and into the Saturn, which Bates had driven to the gas station after working on it for his uncle.
When Bates saw the Aura was being stolen, he ran out of the gas station’s convenience store and threw a coke at the car. Vandoren hit Bates with Saturn as he turned the car onto Hwy. 30, the guilty plea said.
At about 8:40 p.m., a Sheriff’s Office deputy saw the Dart and Aura traveling east on Hwy. 30 toward House Springs. The cars turned onto Hwy. MM, which turns into Hwy. M, and eventually the drivers of the two cars attempted to get onto the northbound I-55 entrance ramp. The Saturn got onto I-55. However, as the Dart was making its turn to get onto the interstate, it crashed, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Carver got out of the Dodge and allegedly attempted to run away. After a struggle with deputies, one of them used a stun gun to subdue Carver, and he was taken into custody, the report said.
During the investigation, deputies learned the Dodge had been reported stolen from Creve Coeur, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said in May 2020.
On May 21, 2020, a St. Louis County Police officer spotted the Saturn at an America’s Best Value Inn hotel in St. Louis County. Vandoren was found in one of the hotel’s rooms and arrested, according to the guilty plea.
Officers found a .9-millimeter Taurus handgun with five rounds in the magazine, syringes and capsules suspected of containing illegal substances in the room. Investigators also found several Facebook Live videos posted on May 20, 2020, that showed Vandoren and Carver holding the gun found in the hotel room, the guilty plea said.
Vandoren and Carver are both convicted felons, and they are not allowed to be in possession of a gun, according to the guilty plea.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is handling the case.