Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ST. LOUIS — A man who admitted tampering with a witness with information about a fatal hit-and-run in St. Louis pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal gun charge.

Martez D. Lindsey, 31, of St. Louis County, Missouri, pleaded guilty Thursday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lindsey admitted as part of his plea that while investigating a fatal hit-and-run, detectives performed a court-approved search of Lindsey’s apartment on April 25, 2023. In Lindsey’s bedroom, they found a stolen Taurus G3 pistol, .53 grams of cocaine base, .33 grams of methamphetamine, 1.14 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and $1,370 in cash. Lindsey admitted knowing that, as someone convicted of multiple felonies, he was barred from possessing a firearm. 

In an attempt to avoid detention in jail after his arrest on the federal charge, Lindsey contacted a key witness in the hit-and-run investigation and pressured her to recant her original report to police. He wanted her to claim she was tricked or made up a story because she was mad at him, the plea agreement says. Lindsey believed her statement was the “only proof they got,” the plea says. The witness was an ex-girlfriend and Lindsey previously had thrown a brick through the rear window of a vehicle she owned and tossed in a firework that destroyed the front window, the plea says.

Lindsey is scheduled to be sentenced March 13, 2024. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.

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