Jakiaya McCoy

A Missouri woman who is in Madison County Jail for allegedly robbing an Edwardsville electronics store in December with a modified Glock pistol, among other crimes, has been charged federally on related criminal violations.

Jakiaya McCoy, 21, of Florissant, is charged in a new indictment with two counts of transportation of a stolen vehicle, one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun.

Federal prosecutors say that McCoy carried a Glock 21 pistol during the robbery at the Edwardsville Best Buy, 6670 Edwardsville Crossing. The weapon, authorities said, was equipped with an “auto sear selector switch,” which made the gun fully automatic.

Police said after stealing Apple computers and a hoverboard at gunpoint, McCoy and an accomplice, Angel Deshaun Crosby, 22, then fled the Best Buy as police arrived. The two allegedly led officers on a high-speed chase on Interstate 270 that reached speeds as high as 130 mph. Officers were eventually able to flatten the tires on the car with spike strips near the Chain of Rocks Bridge at the Missouri-Illinois border, police said. The two women allegedly fled on foot, but were captured after a brief foot chase.

Besides the machine gun charge, the latest federal charges were warranted due to McCoy allegedly transporting two stolen cars — a 2018 Chrysler 300 and a 2013 Kia Optima — across state lines over a two-day period in November.

The state and federal charges stem from an investigation by numerous local police agencies working with the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office. McCoy was indicted by a Madison County grand jury in January for an alleged robbery spree in Glen Carbon and Wood River. The charges lodged against her include two counts of burglary and two counts related to motor vehicles, all Class 2 felonies in Illinois.

A press release from the office of Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas A. Haine alleged that McCoy stole from Cassens & Sons, a car dealership at 3333 S. Illinois 159, Glen Carbon on Nov. 20. Wood River police testified before the grand jury that on that same day McCoy broke into Dream Nissan, 1825 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River, to commit theft. At the time, they say, she was found to be in the possession of the stolen 2018 Chrysler 300 and a stolen 2013 Kia Optima.

Wood River Police Chief Brad Wells noted in a press release back in December that detectives from across the Metro region met at the Wood River Police Department with Assistant State’s Attorneys Katie Warren and Susan Jensen to investigate possible links between the burglaries at the car dealerships and other crimes, including vehicle thefts, vehicle break-ins and large retail thefts.

“Personnel from the Cross-River Crime Task Force were also involved,” Haine said in his release, citing “the multi-jurisdictional nature of the alleged crimes.” That investigation identified McCoy as a possible suspect.

Wood River investigators, along with detectives from several law enforcement agencies, worked “diligently to identify this suspect and gather evidence,” Chief Wells said.

McCoy is currently incarcerated at the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, in East St. Louis, after State’s Attorney Thomas Haine’s office convinced a judge that she was a threat to  public safety. She is scheduled to be arraigned federally on July 8 at the East St. Louis courthouse.

Haines expressed pride for the effort and professionalism of the numerous officers involved in the investigation that led to charges against McCoy and others, saying, “This is a textbook example of law enforcement agencies working together and taking proactive steps to keep our community safe.”

“I commend the many police agencies involved in this investigation as well as the agencies that successfully and safely apprehended the defendants.”