Burglary

Burglary Suspects Up to Their Necks in Trouble and Tattoos

The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department says it's nabbed the men responsible for a rash of recent car break-ins. Mugshots of two of the three suspects guarantee that witnesses won't have any problem identifying them if they were involved in the crimes.

Home Invasion: St. Louis Man Stops Drunk Intruder By Shooting Him in Leg, Police Say

Another day, another attempted intrusion in a St. Louis home thwarted by gunshots. This time the intruder survived -- and was reportedly being very intoxicated. Last month, police said that a 53-year-old woman fired a single shot at three men in hoodies who had broken into her St. Louis home; th ... More >>

Michael Bryant, 17, Faces Murder Charges After His Burglary Accomplice Is Shot And Killed

Michael Bryant, 17, and Demetrius Murphy, 15, allegedly tried to break into a St. Louis home near Gravois Park in the middle of the night last week. As we reported, the burglary did not go as planned. Murphy ended up dead -- and now Bryant is facing murder charges. Police recently announced that ... More >>

Demetrius Murphy, 15, Shot And Killed While Allegedly Trying To Burglarize St. Louis Home

Demetrius Murphy, 15, and a 17-year-old were allegedly trying to break into a St. Louis home near Gravois Park last night when a man and a woman inside realized something was going on. The 33-year-old male then got his gun and went outside to investigate the disturbance -- as Murphy reportedly sta ... More >>

Wal-Mart Theft: Alton Residents Steal Vacuum, Headphones, Return to Store -- With Drugs

If you steal large items from a Wal-Mart, it's perhaps not a great idea to return to the store two days later to steal more goods. But if you must -- maybe try not to be carrying illegal drugs. You know, just in case they noticed you the first time you walked out of the store with stuff you clearly ... More >>

Fleeing Burglar Points Gun at Cops, Who Respond With a Barrage of Bullets

Last night at 10:42 p.m., police say, a 92-year-old woman living in the Hill neighborhood was awoken by noises in her basement. She soon discovered three burglars, described in the police report as three black males, ages 17, 17 and 21. One of them pointed a weapon at the old lady. But they then fle ... More >>

Dameion Dorsey Charged with Burglary After Being Shot by Police

Police were called to the 3900 block of Compton Avenue in the Dutchtown neighborhood at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning for a reported burglary. When they arrived, they found the back door of the building ajar. They entered with weapons drawn.Once inside the police heard breaking glass, and then saw a man ... More >>

Foiled Again! Gas Thieves Try Wrapping Their Way to Success

Fairview Heights police received an unusual phone call this past Saturday. A man was behaving suspiciously on the roof of the BP gas station at 6400 North Illinois Street. It was 11 a.m., so the caller had a good look at the man, and was able to describe him and the two men waiting in a parked car w ... More >>

Wash. U is 16th Most Crime-Riddled Campus

According to The Daily Beast, Washington University is a premiere institution for hitting the books or getting hit over the head. Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, the blog used incidents of murder, robbery, assault, burglaries, and car thefts between 2008 and 2010 to populate their ... More >>

Donald Rasch Was Punched to Death

​That's Dr. Mary Case's official assessment of the facts. Dr. Case, the St. Louis County Medical Examiner, ruled Rasch's death a homicide last week, and after studying his brain, determined the cause of death was a subdural hematoma, or blood clot on the brain.Rasch, 50, was found unconscious in h ... More >>

Appeals Court Goes Inside the Toolkit of a Burlgar

​As the saying goes, a good carpenter never blames his tools. But in the case of Brad Mills, who apparently arrives to the job very well prepared, the blame for his legal troubles can be placed squarely on his toolkit. Earlier this week the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals r ... More >>

Smash-and-Grab Burglars Strike Another St. Louis Fashion Boutique

​For the second time in as many days, thieves have smashed through the windows of a St. Louis area clothier and made off with merchandise. Today's robbery occurred at Blues, a fashion denim retailer in the 6700 block of Delmar in University City. KTVI reports that the thieves smashed through the g ... More >>

Bacon Burglar Caught Frying Up Breakfast in University City Home

Damon Petty is no petty criminal, according to court records.​A suburban St. Louis woman was out running errands Tuesday morning when she returned to her home and caught a burglar frying bacon in her kitchen. Kenya Ealy told reporters yesterday that the suspect tried to bar her from entering the h ... More >>

Mid-Year St. Louis Police Report: Homicides, Burglaries Up

​Homicides, burglaries and robberies are up from this time last year, but the latter two categories have dropped since May. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Dan Isom presented the latest crime stats yesterday at the Board of Police Commissioner's meeting, held at police headquarters. Thro ... More >>

Serial Illinois Burglar Apprehended Following Joint-County Investigation

​A young man whose four-month burglary binge took him across four different counties in rural Illinois and netted him thousands of dollars worth of stolen property has been nabbed. Twenty-five-year-old Brett T. Chastain of Granite City, Illinois, was charged yesterday by the Madison County St ... More >>

Tornado Victims Defrauded by Towing Company, AG Says

Albert SamahaAttorney General Chris Koster says a towing company's been taking advantage of the situation in Joplin.​Sometimes, natural disasters bring out the best in people. But Attorney General Chris Koster alleges just the opposite of a Parkville, Missouri, based towing company. Koster claims ... More >>

Downtown Car Clouter Back in Jail After Brief Release

Michael Paynes​The lead story in today's Post-Dispatch asks the question: if a man with a felony rap sheet is nabbed for breaking into a car and resisting arrest, why would the court system release him on his own recognizance and put him back on the streets? Especially considering that the man ... More >>

Cops Arrest Two Car Vandals

Willis​The Fourth of July theatrics in St. Louis this weekend weren't limited to concerts and light shows. In case you missed it, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, in dramatic fashion, apprehended two of the men suspected of twenty car break-ins that occurred near Union Station on ... More >>

St. Louis Mayor Demands Parking Lot Attendants Following Rash of Car Break-Ins

​Updated 9:55 a.m. with comment from Mayor Francis Slay.They charge you anywhere from $10 to $20 dollars to park your car in their lots for a few hours to catch a Cardinals game. You'd think the least they could do for that money is watch over your vehicle while it's there and make sure it's not v ... More >>

St. Louis Police Arrest Two Men on Car Clouting Charges; One May Be Serial Offender

James Palmer faces a dozen charges regarding vehicle break-ins.​This just in. Fresh on the heels of rash of car break-ins in downtown St. Louis, police have arrested two men on charges of car clouting. The suspects -- James Palmer and Joshua Hollingsworth -- were officially charged Tuesday. Accord ... More >>

Lincoln County High School Pool Pranksters Jailed on Burglary Charges

George Bailey, in a more classic high school pool prank​Here's what's hard to understand: For those who take baths, you may absent-mindedly forget to turn the water off every once in a while. If you cook on a stove top, maybe you sometimes to forget to turn off a burner. But if you've ever dec ... More >>

15,000 Cars Stolen In Missouri in 2010; One-Fourth of Them From St. Louis

The Ford Taurus was the most-stolen vehicle in Missouri last year.​The Missouri Insurance Information Service reports that 15,640 vehicles were stolen in Missouri in 2010. Nearly half (47 percent) of those vehicle thefts occurred inside the borders of St. Louis and Kansas City. The good news? The ... More >>

Violent Crime in St. Louis Lowest in 43 Years, Say Police; Vehicle Thefts at Near 50-Year Low

Perhaps the tape should read: Crime seen?​St. Louis police are out with their official crime statistics for 2010.  According to the department, Part I Crimes (homicides, rapes, robbery, assault, burglaries, larcenies, vehicle thefts, arson) dropped 9.2 percent compared to 2010. But here's whe ... More >>

Teens Arrested For Robbing Home of Murder Victim; Suspects Knew No One Would Be Home

Jennings police yesterday arrested three teenagers on suspicion of burglarizing the apartment of a woman murdered just a day earlier. Brandis McCollier, 23, was found dead inside the apartment Monday in the 2600 block of Tyrell. Prosecutors have charged her boyfriend, Keith Stubblefield, who also ... More >>

Buddy Ferguson: Burglar Suspect Caught Sawing Through Roof

Gee whiz, Buddy. That wasn't too smart. ​A clerk at a south St. Louis convenience store was alerted to a strange sound early yesterday morning that turned out to be a burglar attempting to saw his way through the roof.The incident occurred around 5:20 a.m. Tuesday in the 9300 block of Broadway Str ... More >>

Snack Chips, Bag of Candy Stolen in East St. Louis ATM Robbery; Cash Maybe Missing, Too

eslarp.uiuc.edu​Daily RFT just received a notice that the St. Clair Sheriff's Department will hold a 2 p.m. press conference today to address a brazen burglary this morning in East St. Louis. At around 3:30 a.m. thieves drove a stolen church van through the window of a diner attached to Emerson Pa ... More >>

Parents Cash In For Their Children Attending School, Behaving In Classroom

Look what I brought home, mom!​This is what it's come to: Parents getting $300 in Visa gift cards for ensuring that their children attend school and behave in the classroom. Yesterday a dozen parents at Jefferson Elementary School in the Carr Square Neighborhood north of downtown St. Louis were re ... More >>

Woman Believes God Saved Her From Armed Burglars in East St. Louis

​A Christmas miracle in -- of all places -- East St. Louis?That's the story you get when listening to the tale of Tabitha Moore. The 29-year-old was asleep on the couch of her East St. Louis apartment around 5:45 a.m. Friday morning when burglars broke through the door carrying assault rifles. In ... More >>

Bedroom Intruders Hit St. Louis; Where's Antoine Dodson When You Really Need Him?

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: Yet another bedroom break-in to report. Police in Cahokia say a 51-year-old woman was shot in the leg around 4 a.m. Tuesday by an unknown intruder. The Post-Dispatch reports that "she had been asleep in her bedroom with her boyfriend when a man kicked in her bedroom door, ordered h ... More >>

Have a Home Alarm in St. Louis? You'll Also Need a Permit if You Want It to Work

Another reason we believe the yard signs are better than the actual alarm.​It took St. Louis police a half-hour to respond to a home alarm Sunday in south city. By the time police arrived to the scene, the burglar had made off with a gun safe, flat-screen TV and other items. Police could have arri ... More >>

Donald Zakrzewski: Burglar Falls Into Landfill and Dies Fleeing Homeowner, Cops

Police chief Rich Wooten calls it one of the most unusual incidents he's seen during his 26 years serving the St. Louis suburb of Ladue. At 11:45 p.m. Saturday a homeowner in the 9700 block of Old Warson called Wooten's department to report a burglary. The man had just returned from an evening out t ... More >>

Wash. U. Among Nation's Most Dangerous Colleges [Updated]

Wikimedia CommonsAbandon hope (and your wallet, your bicycle and possibly your car) ye who enter here.​Oh, hello there Daily Beast rankings! It's been a while since we heard from you. Not that we missed you. You have such a way of making us feel bad about ourselves, even if we have doubts abou ... More >>

Stealing Just Another Form of Tax-Free Back-to-School Shopping in East St. Louis

image viaHow to thwart a school security system in East St. Louis.​Illinois, alas, does not have a tax-free back-to-school shopping weekend the way Missouri does. And so a few citizens of East St. Louis have had to resort to other methods of saving money, namely breaking, entering and stealing. Me ... More >>

Those Dirty Dogs! Collinsville Burglars Mark Their Territory

image viaThe writing on the wall.​Not content with merely stealing electronics and jewelry, the burglars who broke into a Collinsville home last Wednesday, July 21, decided to mark their territory. They used red spray paint, which is not the easiest to remove, but definitely smells better than ... More >>

Latest Way to Fight Off Unwelcome Intruders: A Railroad Spike

image via​Last month Daily RFT reported the tale of a high-school football player who foiled a break-in at a neighborhood grocery store by tackling the would-be burglar and displaying some choice wrestling moves. Now we are pleased to report another novel method of fighting an unwelcome visit ... More >>

St. Louis Cracks Down on Downtown Nightclubs: Lure, Sugar, F15teen

Corrected and updated (with specific number of police calls to the clubs) at 9:24 a.m.So, here's a curious aside regarding the city's crackdown this week on three downtown nightclubs. On Monday, Daily RFT specifically asked the St. Louis Police Department whether Monday's shootings downtown had anyt ... More >>

Former Araka Chef Mark Curran Charged with Burglarizing the Restaurant

Stew SmithThe wine collection at Araka in Clayton​Mark Curran, former executive chef at Araka, was charged Thursday, June 17, with burglarizing the restaurant where he worked for more than two years. Court records indicate that Curran faces six counts of burglary in the second degree (a felon ... More >>

Neighborhood Teens Confront Burglary Suspect, Beat Him to a Bloody Pulp

bnd.comJohn L. Smith​John Smith was lurking in the wrong neighborhood Monday night. A registered sex offender and burglary suspect, the 39-year-old Smith was walking down a driveway in Fairview Heights where a vehicle had just been broken into when he was confronted by two neighborhood teenagers - ... More >>

Cool Term for the Smash-and-Grab Break-ins Last Weekend Downtown: "Car Clouting"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thievingjoker/ / CC BY-SA 2.0This car got "clouted," fools.​Gather 'round, word nerds, we got a new one.Many outlets reported the smattering of car break-ins that plagued Soulard and Downtown over the weekend (here's KTVI and the AP). According to KMOX.com, fans at the ... More >>

Angela Robertson: Killed By Teenager Fleeing St. Louis Police in Stolen Car

A teenager fleeing St. Louis police in a vehicle reported stolen in a carjacking last week crashed into another auto last night killing 20-year-old Angela Robertson and critically wounding a 22-year-old passenger in her car. The 16-year-old is in the hospital recovering from a broken nose and spine. ... More >>

Love Is A Thief in the Night

Nellyville Burglarized!

Nelly's mansion in Wildwood was burglarized, reports the Daily RFT. The Fox news link at the post mentions that the intruder stole a duffel bag's worth of "electronic and game items." More when we know it!

Update: Burglar Strikes Nelly's Mansion, Police Respond in Force -- Delta Force

​More details are emerging about the break in this morning at rapper Nelly's estate in the western suburb of Wildwood. The Post-Dispatch reports that the hip-hop star was out of town this morning when a thief broke in the sprawling mansion around 7 a.m. People staying in the home heard a commotion ... More >>

Burglars Beware: That Home You're Casing Could Be a "Bait House"

​The Post-Dispatch is out with an interesting article about how St. Louis County Police plan to use "bait houses" to catch burglars. The idea was borne from the popularity and success of bait cars -- vehicles rigged to kill the engine and lock the doors and windows when stolen by car thieves. The ... More >>

The Rockwell Files

Steven Spielberg's stolen painting, a St. Louis art thief, and a plot to kill Martin Luther King. It could make a helluva movie.

The Case of the Stained Glass Bandit

South St. Louis police say they've finally cracked it

The Gang That Couldn't Puke Straight

Bosnian teens steal thousands of hard-earned dollars

Stolo Street

A young girl. A stolen pickup. A tragedy on Evans Avenue.

Gone Ballistic

It's he said, they said as the owner and clients of a St. Louis recording and practice-space operation pick through the ruins of the business

FORWARD BY UNPOPULAR DEMAND

Dodson murder case is one for the middle of the road