CLAYTON — Prosecutors dropped 43 charges against a Hillsdale teen accused of a one-year string of car break-ins across the county, in exchange for a guilty plea to 16 charges.
Juanell Carter was sentenced to serve four years for the crimes.
The deal wrapped up three cases against Carter, who was accused of breaking the windows of dozens of cars between June 27, 2022, and June 19, 2023, from Frontenac to Maryland Heights to Clayton. He was also accused of stealing some of the cars as well as purses, credit cards and guns.
He was 16 then.
Of the 59 charges, Carter pleaded guilty to 16 counts, including burglary, stealing a car, and stealing a firearm.
"The defense wanted probation," ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith said in a statement. "We insisted on prison time."
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So Carter pleaded blindly, meaning the prosecution and defense did not agree on a sentence, and left it up to the judge.
He was sentenced to four years in prison on Feb. 28, according to court documents that were made publicly available last week.
Carter, who is now 18, is at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic Correction Center in Bonne Terre.
Judge Jason D. Dodson certified Carter as an adult in May 2024, which is when prosecutors filed 53 charges against him including stealing, property damage, burglary and motor vehicle theft.
Two other cases, containing six charges, were filed shortly thereafter.
In total, Carter pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree property damage, two counts of stealing a firearm, four counts of stealing a vehicle, two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of misdemeanor stealing.
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