High school football coach was lured to his death in carjacking scheme, feds say

Nearly six years after a high school football coach was lured to his death, a Missouri man has pleaded guilty to several charges, authorities said.

Kurt Wallace, 30, of St. Louis, is the seventh person convicted in the investigation into a series of area carjackings, according to a Sept. 13 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Wallace fired the fatal shot that killed De Smet Jesuit High School football coach Jaz Granderson in one of those carjackings, authorities said.

The defense attorneys representing Wallace did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Sept. 14.

Authorities said Wallace’s then-girlfriend set up meetings with men so that he and her other associates could rob them of their vehicles and other belongings at gunpoint.

On Oct. 16, 2017, Wallace was at his girlfriend’s home with one other defendant when Granderson was lured to the St. Louis residence, according to a signed plea agreement.

The football coach arrived in a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee, authorities said, and then he was confronted by Wallace and the other man. Prosecutors said Wallace shot Granderson.

Wallace and another defendant drove off in Granderson’s Jeep as Granderson tried to get away on foot, according to the plea agreement. Police later found the football coach, and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

“Jaz was extremely mannerable and raised to respect his elders and it showed to those that ever encountered him,” loved ones wrote in his obituary. “He was very easy going and kept those around him calm.”

He was remembered for impacting students and fellow coaches, establishing a charity that provides toys to more than 300 kids each Christmas and helping athletes stay on track, according to the obituary.

“Wallace was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2017 and detained in jail pending trial,” authorities said. “While in custody, Wallace escaped from a jail on July 15, 2019. After escaping, Wallace and fellow inmate James Flannel carjacked a vehicle and led police on a multi-jurisdiction pursuit until Wallace crashed and flipped the vehicle.”

Flannel was previously sentenced to life in prison in the fatal carjacking of Laclede Cab Co. driver Boris Iouioukine in June 2018, according to the news release.

Wallace has pleaded guilty to “four counts of carjacking, two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of carjacking resulting in death, and one count of escape,” authorities said.

Both sides have recommended he serve 60 years in federal prison, according to the news release.

His former girlfriend faces 27 in prison, authorities said. The other man accused of being involved in Granderson’s carjacking faces about 30 years in prison.

This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 10:48 AM with the headline "High school football coach was lured to his death in carjacking scheme, feds say."