James Flannel, Murder, Missouri 2018

A St. Louis man has pleaded guilty to murdering a Laclede Cab Company driver in a carjacking gone wrong.

James Flannel, 37, of St. Louis, MO, pleaded guilty on October 31, 2019, to one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a carjacking that resulted in the death of Boris Iouioukine, a Laclede Cab Company driver.

The crime occurred on June 25, 2018, when Flannel called the Laclede Cab Company and ordered a taxi. A red minivan taxi being driven by the victim responded to Flannel's request. Flannel got into the taxi at approximately 8:52 p.m. and was armed with a nine-millimeter firearm when he entered the taxi.

At approximately 9:14 p.m., while inside the taxi, Flannel shot and killed Boris Iouioukine with the nine-millimeter pistol. The shooting occurred inside the cab while the taxi was present in the 2500 block of East Dodier within the City of St. Louis.

Flannel drove the taxi from the area after the shooting and parked it at the driveway of a residence in the 10000 block of Duke Drive in Saint Louis County, Missouri. Flannel fled the scene after leaving the taxi.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department received calls for help relative to a man down in the middle of the street at approximately 9:26 p.m. Police and the fire department responded and located Boris Iouioukine. Paramedics pronounced Boris Iouioukine dead at the scene.

Flannel was charged by way of federal complaint on June 27, 2018. Investigators initiated an investigation within Spanish Lake Park in an effort to locate and recover the nine-millimeter firearm utilized by Flannel during the armed carjacking and murder. A search within the park eventually located a Taurus make, Millennium G2 model, nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol. The firearm was operable and loaded with 13 rounds. It was seized. Subsequent ballistic analysis of the firearm confirmed that the shell casing recovered from the taxi was fired from the nine-millimeter firearm located and seized from within Spanish Lake Park.

Flannel's plea agreement includes a recommendation that a sentence of life imprisonment be imposed. The charge of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years to life. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/st-louis-man-pleads-guilty-killing-laclede-cab-driver