ST. CHARLES, Mo. – A man admitted to targeting a St. Charles restaurant in a Molotov cocktail attack while he was employed last year.
Rashaad Cotton, 25, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one felony charge of attempted arson.
According to the plea agreement, Cotton admitted to throwing multiple Molotov cocktails in St. Charles on April 30, 2021. That included one on a residential street and three toward the Sauce on the Side restaurant on Beale Street.
Cotton threw the Molotov cocktails around 6:30 p.m. that night while the restaurant was open and serving customers. A juvenile girl helped him throw one toward the restaurant’s patio, per the plea agreement.
Later on, Cotton and the girl tried to get away in his vehicle, but they crashed into a curb. Police arrested both a short time later. Cotton told police that he had been fired from the restaurant the night before and wanted to scare people.
Cotton could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison on April 19.