MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Editor's note: Video above is from May 2020.
An Illinois woman was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for helping her boyfriend, who died in a shoot-out with U.S. Marshals as they tried to take him into custody in Mississippi.
Xaveriana Cook pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to robbery and murder and aiding and abetting the possession of firearm by a prohibited person.
The Department of Justice said Hunter Carlstrom was wanted for the murder of James Sartorelli in Smithville, Arkansas on May 7, 2020. They said Carlstrom told his girlfriend, Cook, that he was going to murder Sartorelli for money, guns, and drugs, then the two took off in Cook’s car after the murder.
U.S. Marshals found the two in Oxford, Mississippi, on May 15, 2020, and tried to stop the car. They said Carlstrom shot one of the marshals, who was severely injured and required surgery. Officers returned fire, killing Carlstrom. Cook, who had been driving the car, was arrested.
Investigators said they found a stolen gun in the car, and two more guns that had been stolen from Sartorelli at the home where the couple had been staying in Oxford.
Prosecutors said Cook admitted that Carlstrom told her he would not go back to prison and would “have a shoot-out with the cops” if they were stopped by law enforcement.