Kilwa Jones Gets 35 Years for Arch Area Shooting and Robbery

St. Louis man Kilwa Jones was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for a violent, daylight ambush near the Gateway Arch on September 25, 2015. Jones, a convicted felon, opened fire on Christopher Sanna in the northbound lanes of Memorial Drive, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, after demanding cash and valuables from Sanna and his companion, Lisa Simpson.

According to court documents, the attack unfolded moments after Sanna and Simpson left a St. Louis Cardinals game and walked toward their parked car in the Old Cathedral lot. Jones approached them brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, ordered them to hand over their belongings, and when they refused, shot Sanna in the back. The bullet left Sanna paralyzed as Jones rifled through his pockets and snatched Simpson’s purse before fleeing in a waiting vehicle.

The crime scene—just steps from one of the nation’s most iconic landmarks—was captured in surveillance footage and witness accounts that helped federal investigators piece together Jones’ movements. The area, managed by the National Park Service, is federal property, which elevated the charges and brought the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department into the investigation.

In July, Jones pleaded guilty to a string of federal offenses: assault with a dangerous weapon on federal property, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, two counts of robbery on federal land, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges carried mandatory minimums, sealing a stiff sentence under federal guidelines.

U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry handed down the 35-year sentence today, calling the attack cowardly and premeditated. ‘This was not a crime of opportunity gone wrong,’ Judge Perry stated. ‘It was a calculated act of terror against two innocent people in a public space where they should have felt safe.’

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Bird. Federal authorities emphasized that crimes committed on national park land, even in urban areas like downtown St. Louis, trigger severe penalties. Jones will serve his sentence without the possibility of parole, underlining the federal government’s zero-tolerance stance on armed violence in public spaces.