ST. LOUIS – A Florissant man who was shot while attempting to rob a north St. Louis market in 2020 was sentenced Tuesday.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said John L. Smith pleaded guilty in November 2022 to one count of robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Smith admitted he walked into a store in the 4500 block of Athlone Avenue on Aug. 19, 2020, with a small pistol and demanded money from the register.

Smith said he threatened to kill a clerk if he didn’t move faster to empty the register. Meanwhile, another store employee retrieved a firearm and shot Smith.

Prosecutors said Smith fled the store with just $30, but left behind his phone and blood as evidence. Police and FBI agents later found the pistol during a court-ordered search of Smith’s home.

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Smith to 15 years in federal prison. It will run consecutive to any sentence Smith receives for violating probation in 2002 and 2003 robbery cases in St. Louis County.