Ballwin Man Arrested for Brutal Road Rage Attack in Downtown St. Louis

John Jacob Ehlinger faces charges of felony assault and armed criminal action

Nov 17, 2023 at 4:28 pm

COURTESY SWANSEA POLICE

John Jacob Ehlinger seems to have some rage issues.

John Jacob Ehlinger, 35, has been arrested for a brutal road rage attack that took place near Ballpark Village on October 22. Swansea Police say they arrested him Wednesday "without incident."

Ehlinger allegedly beat his victim badly enough to break his nose, jaw and forehead, police say. The road rage attack garnered significant attention after being tweeted about by the group Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis, a member of whom said they had personally witnessed the incident around 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

"The victim made the mistake of honking at him for running a red light. He then made the mistake of leaving his door unlocked," they wrote, adding that the driver who'd run the red was in a truck for a roofing company. "He dragged the victim from his car, beat him to the ground, including kicking him in his face. The victim will need stitches. We called 911. For some reason no police report exists at this time. But hey, crime is down."

Yesterday, Sunday, at ~8:30 AM at 10th & Clark, we witnessed a guy beat the s&@$ out of a guy in a road rage incident. The victim made the mistake of honking at him for running a red light. He then made the mistake of leaving his door unlocked.

The assailant was in his work… pic.twitter.com/EpxDwZHiVM
— Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis (@Citizens4STL) October 23, 2023

Citizens for a Great Downtown St. Louis added that when another driver passed the scene, Ehlinger allegedly chased him, pointed a gun at his window and fired as he sped away.

As the Post-Dispatch first reported, the October incident wasn’t even the first prominent brawl involving Ehlinger. They unearthed records showing he was previously involved in an ugly bar fight with three players for the Cardinals outside the Penthouse Club in Sauget — and that at the time, Ehlinger was on probation for slashing someone’s tires in an unrelated case. (The bar fight resulted in a lawsuit but no criminal charges.)

Ehlinger is now facing two counts of felony assault and one of armed criminal action. He is being held without bond.

Swansea Police say he was being held at St. Clair County Jail awaiting extradition to St. Louis. He was not yet listed as being in the City Justice Center as of Friday afternoon.

Slideshow

The 21 Types of St. Louis Drivers

The Party PeopleThey’re twerking on the roof of the vehicle even while the driver’s going 65 on the highway — and yeah, that’s dangerous as hell, but this is St. Louis. These mean streets are going to get you one way or another. Sometimes people look around and think Why not go die while dancing?

The Guy Who Had No Idea KIAs Were Easy to Steal Back in 2019Give your sympathy to these poor drivers who are stuck with one of the most easily stolen cars in modern history. No wonder they drive around with an anti-theft device in their front seat and a chip on their shoulder. Worst of all, they still have two years left on their loan.

The Joy FM EnthusiastYes, this bumper sticker is the No. 1 sign of bad driving in St. Louis. Why? Repeated observation. We don’t make the rules. But get stuck behind a car with a Joy FM bumper sticker and you’ll quickly learn why cars like this are one of St. Louis’ great in-jokes.

The Gravois NASCAR DriverThey know they don’t need to go all the way to Daytona to get in on some hot race car action. They just hop in the whip and roll on over to Gravois Avenue where two lanes (and the ability to ignore red lights) is all they need to try to make everyone think they have a big penis. (Spoiler alert: The opposite happens.)

The Golf Cart BroThey're the life of the party, tooling around town in a golf cart that won’t go above 25 mph and tossing back brewskis all the way. The fact is: They're not driving that golf cart by choice. They just can’t get an actual car insured after all those DUIs.

The Suburban Kid Looking to ScoreThey’re driving their Dad’s SUV and are determined to get in and out of the dangerous city so fast, they’re knocking over traffic-calming devices and pedestrians like bowling pins. (They’re also probably high.) Give these drivers plenty of room.

The JeffCo VisitorThey’re complaining about crime in the city while driving to a Cardinals game with a gun in the back of their truck. Hey, guess what? That gun is gonna get stolen.

Click to View 21 slides

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.