U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Eugene Winters, 44, of Hayti, Missouri, to 25 years in prison for his involvement in a fatal and non-fatal shooting that occurred in 2023. Winters was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Winters admitted to the shootings, which took place outside “The Store” located at 301 Washington Street in Hayti just before 7:30 p.m. on April 19, 2023. According to court documents, Winters argued with one of the victims before retrieving a firearm from his vehicle. The victim, seated in his own vehicle, was shot multiple times by Winters, who believed the man was armed. After shooting the victim from the driver’s side of the vehicle, Winters walked to the passenger side and fired additional rounds.
A second victim emerged from the store and approached Winters, prompting him to start shooting at the second individual. Winters then followed the second victim into the store, firing two more shots as the man attempted to flee.
Hayti police officers arrived shortly after the incident, at which point Winters discarded his weapon and surrendered by lying on the ground.
Both victims were transported to a local hospital and later airlifted to Regional One Health Trauma Center in Memphis, Tennessee, due to the severity of their injuries. One of the victims succumbed to those injuries.
Winters, a convicted felon with prior convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault, was prohibited from possessing firearms. His previous offenses qualified him as an “armed career criminal,” carrying a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
The case was investigated by the Hayti Police Department, the Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hahn prosecuted the case.
