St. Louis County Man Admits Possessing Gun on School Grounds

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County man on Thursday admitted threatening someone with a gun in a St. Louis early childhood education center’s parking lot

Leslie Wilkes, 26, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of a firearm in a school zone. He admitted that on May 5, 2023, he got into dispute with the father of a student at the center on Raymond Avenue in St. Louis. Wilkes was the boyfriend of the student’s mother. Wilkes told the principal that if she released the child to the father, the center would “have problems and he would be there every day.” Wilkes also threatened to shoot the father. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived and told Wilkes to put the gun down before taking him into custody. Wilkes told officers that he grabbed the gun because his hand was injured and he could not physically fight the father. He was carrying a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 semiautomatic pistol.

Wilkes is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nauman Wadalawala is prosecuting the case.