Crime

Confederate Shrine Vandalized in Missouri; Southern Nationalists Outraged

The Southern Nationalist Network would have the vandal know: Them fightin' words.​The Civil War ended nearly 150 years ago but North-South animosity evidently remains in Cape Girardeau where a vandal this week defaced a monument to Confederate soldiers. As the Southeast Missourian reports, someone ... More >>

Q & A: Local Author Breaks Down New Book About Mexican Drug War

A few years ago while living out West, Sylvia Longmire, a retired U.S. Air Force captain and former special agent with the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, noticed that the news media often bollixed its coverage of the Mexican drug war -- a topic she'd been tracking closely for Californ ... More >>

St. Louis Police: Wigged Out Suspect Wanted for Three Robberies

​St. Louis police are seeking the public's help in identifying a man (right) believed to have robbed at least three area businesses. In each case the suspect has worn a wig, either a large Afro or gold dreadlocks. The latest robbery occurred July 29 when he held up the Penn Station East Coast Subs ... More >>

Michael Brown: St. Louis Homicide No. 79; Teenager Murdered in Penrose

​Sixteen-year-old Michael Brown of the 5000 block of St. Louis Avenue was found shot to death in the Penrose Neighborhood of north city early yesterday morning. St. Louis police report that they arrived to the 4500 block of Margaretta to find Wilson lying dead in the middle of the street from guns ... More >>

Guns Claim Two More Children in St. Louis Region

"From an infant's cold, dead hands!"​A ten-year-old Belleville boy accidentally shot and killed his five-year-old brother yesterday while playing with a shotgun kept in the home. An "extremely tragic accident" is how Belleville police chief William Clay described the incident. A day earlier -- Tu ... More >>

Man Shot in Broad Daylight in North City

The 2800 block of Sarah, where a 42-year-old man was shot after an attempted mugging yesterday.​A 42-year-old man was shot around 4:30 p.m. yesterday in the 2800 block of Sarah, which is near Vandeventer and St. Louis Avenue in north city.He told police that he was heading north on Sarah when thre ... More >>

Gunfire Strikes University City -- Again

For the third time in the past month, gunfire has disrupted innocent lives in University City. The latest incident occurred Wednesday night when unknown gunmen exchanged as many as twenty shots in the University Commons apartment complex in the 1400 block of North Drive (below).​The gunfire left c ... More >>

Zachary Simmons: St. Louis Homicide No. 64; 50-Year-Old Shot in Baden Neighborhood

Police had few clues yesterday in the shooting death of Zachary Simmons. Simmons, of the 3000 block of Washington in Midtown, was visiting a home in the 900 block of Riverview when he was shot multiple times around 7 p.m. Monday.​Witnesses say they saw Simmons talking to the suspect -- described a ... More >>

Baby Found Dead in South-City Trash Bin

The 2300 block of South Jefferson, where an 18-month-old boy was reported missing -- and then found in a trash bin 30 minutes later.​ An 18-month-old south-city boy, reported missing by his family earlier this morning, was found dead in a trash bin near the family's home, according to the St. ... More >>

Dutchtown Man in Serious Condition After Interrupting Burglar

The 3700 block of Delor, where a 28-year-old man was shot several times last night.​A 28-year-old man is in serious condition after interrupting a gun-toting burglar trying to break into his neighbor's apartment last night.The man, whose name is being withheld by police, was at his home in the 370 ... More >>

DNA Database in the Works in Illinois

​Sex offenders and those indicted for certain violent or sexual offenses in Illinois will be required to submit DNA into a state database, if a bill approved by both houses is signed into law.The legislation, HB 3238, says that anyone arrested -- not only those convicted -- for murder, home invasi ... More >>

Murder Vigil Disrupted By Gunfire, Attendee Struck By Camaro

A vigil honoring Michael Pankins, a 24-year-old man from north county shot dead Sunday in north St. Louis, turned violent yesterday evening.The scene of last night's shooting at Thekla and Riverview. ​According to police, a crowd was holding a candlelight vigil around 8 p.m. Wednesday in north St. ... More >>

Michael Pankins: Victim Shot Dead in Car in North St. Louis

A 24-year-old man is dead after being shot in the head yesterday evening in the 5900 block of Lillian (below) in north St. Louis. ​The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reports that Michael Pankins was a passenger in a car when he was shot around 6 p.m. Sunday. The driver of the vehicle tra ... 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 >>

St. Louis: Five Shot In Separate Incidents Sunday in North City

All five shootings occurred within about a mile of each other.​Five people were wounded in five separate shootings that played out over the course of several hours yesterday in north St. Louis. View interactive map of the shootings.The violence began around 4:40 p.m., when a victim described as a ... More >>

Driving Home From Mardi Gras? Advice From an Attorney

Kraut Law Group​Mardi Gras season also means DUI season, and the police could be tailing your car next. Sure, you only had a few beers. Your blood alcohol content is surely below the legal limit. But could that still portend trouble if Officer Teetotaler pulls you over? It's a situation fraugh ... More >>

Another Study Ranks St. Louis as Nation's Most Dangerous City

​For the second time in three months a national study has named St. Louis the most dangerous city in the nation based on FBI crime data. The latest survey comes via U.S. News and World Report that looks at crime numbers over seven years (2003-2009) as crunched by the real estate information firm, ... More >>

Clarence Smith: 17-Year-Old Charged with Multiple Rapes in St. Louis

Clarence Smith now faces 32 felony counts, including forcible sodomy, rape and robbery​ Don't let that baby face fool you. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office is charging 17-year-old Clarence Smith with 32 felony counts -- including five counts of rape, four counts of forcible sodomy, kidnap ... 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 >>

Black Pearl, Yung Ro Team Up to Offer Free Cover-Up of Gang Tattoos

Page, right, talks with his son, the rapper Yung Ro, outside the promotional party for his upcoming album.​In St. Louis, any tattoo with a six-pointed star likely signifies membership with the criminal group Gangster Disciples. Two overlapping circles might mean affiliation with a North City g ... More >>

Good Ink: Downtown Artist Offers Free Cover-Up of Gang Tattoos

Page, right, talks with his son, the rapper Yung Ro, outside the promotional party for his upcoming album.​In St. Louis, any tattoo with a six-pointed star likely signifies membership with the criminal group Gangster Disciples. Two overlapping circles might mean affiliation with a North City g ... More >>

Marilyn Tomlin: St. Louis Homicide No. 133; Stabbed to Death on Wall Street

A 59-year-old woman was stabbed to death yesterday evening in the 800 block of Wall Street in north St. Louis. The 800 block of Wall Street as viewed from Broadway in north St. Louis.​Police say Marilyn Tomlin was stabbed multiple times and pronounced dead on the scene around 6 p.m. Police took in ... More >>

St. Louis Police Shoot Teenage Suspect Believed to Be Serial-Pizza Delivery Robber

Because we couldn't find an image of a "Pizza Burglar." Besides, we like how the McDonald's arches looks like the Gateway Arch in this image.​Two suspects were arrested and one of them shot after St. Louis police officers responded to three attempted robberies of pizza-delivery drivers in south ci ... More >>

Two Dead After Gangland Shooting Disrupts Funeral of Homicide Victim

St. Louis police report that four people were shot today while attending the funeral of David Davis, a 27-year-old man gunned down in north city last week. The shooting occurred around noon outside the Reliable Funeral Home at 3964 Washington Boulevard (below) in midtown St. Louis.​Two of the shoo ... More >>

ATM Solutions Robbery Adds a Kidnapping: Relatives of Suspect Held for Ransom

A record heist. A jail break. And now a kidnapping? Who says sequels are never as good as the original?​The FBI announced today that two teenage girls believed to be related to one of the suspects in August's multi-million robbery of ATM Solutions were kidnapped and held for ransom this week. Four ... More >>

Dwayne Scales: St. Louis Homicide No. 111; Killed in Gun Battle That Wounded Two Others

Twenty-four-year-old Dwayne Scales was discovered dead from a gunshot wound Saturday evening in the 5700 block of Theodore (below). ​Police report that Scales and several other men were involved in an argument that turned violent as it spilled out of a home in the Walnut Park East neighborhood aro ... More >>

More Muggings Near Wash. U. Campus; Two Incidents Occur Last Night

​Four people were robbed in two separate muggings last night near the Washington University campus. The first incident occurred at Rosedale and Skinker near Washington University's north campus. St. Louis police inform Daily RFT that two male suspects punched and knocked a 20-year-old male to the ... More >>

Jeffrey Stewart Jr.: St. Louis Homicide No. 109; Shot Outside Home in North City

Twenty-five-year-old Jeffrey Stewart Jr. was outside his home in the 5900 block of Era Avenue in north St. Louis last night when he was shot in the chest. Witnesses saw a man run east across the railroad tracks following the shooting.​The shooting occurred around 5:50 p.m. with neighbors telling S ... More >>

Contrary to Popular Belief, St. Louis Police Do Ticket for DUIs

​Move to St. Louis and one of the first things you'll hear from your newfound friends at the corner tavern is not to worry about drinking and driving within city limits.St. Louis cops -- so the logic goes -- have too many real crimes to worry about (homicides, shootings, burglaries) than to spend ... More >>

Samuel Lee: St. Louis Homicide No. 103; Shot While Driving on Drury Lane

A 16-year-old boy succumbed to gunshot wounds yesterday -- four days after being shot in north St. Louis. ​Samuel Lee was driving with two other friends near the intersection of Drury and Gladys (above) at around 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 27, when the car in front of them stopped and a suspect exi ... More >>

Ronald Little: Racks Up a Lot of Sex Charges -- 116 of Them to Be Precise

He may be Little, but his case file ain't.​Last month Daily RFT reported on the arrest of 63-year-old Ronald Little on charges that for years he'd sexually assaulted a female relative who's now just 14 years old. At the time, police suspected that there may have been other victims as well. Yesterd ... More >>

Now THAT is a Child Porn Stash

flickr.com/photos/jurvetsonThis is NOT what Joseph Emil Klug collected. (It was really kiddie porn)​Oh, Joseph Emil Klug. So many other things you could've collected: stamps, bugs, maybe just memories. Instead, in Illinois federal court yesterday, 30-year-old Klug pleaded guilty to amassing a libr ... More >>

Pinalcchio: Forensics experts say a deputy's tale about getting shot by drug smugglers doesn't add up

Calvin Robinson: St. Louis Homicide No. 80; Shot in Chest in South City

Gunfire lit up the south St. Louis neighborhood of Gravois Park Saturday night. The first shooting occurred around 9:10 p.m. at the intersection of Minnesota and Potomac (below). ​That's where police found Calvin Robinson, 22, lying in the street with a gunshot wound to his chest and a pistol by h ... More >>

Devarick Thompson: Arrested for Murder After Refusing to Pay MetroLink Fare

Devarick Thompson: Can't buy a break.​Don't you think that if you're wanted for murder you'd do everything you can not to call attention from the cops? Then again, if you're a stupid criminal -- as seems to be the case of Devarick Thompson -- you just can't help yourself. You're just plain dumb. A ... More >>

Jeremiah McMillon: Charged in Muggings, Sexual Assault in Clayton, University City

Jeremiah McMillon​Clayton police yesterday held a press conference announcing the arrest of a man suspected in a mugging and sexual assault early Labor Day morning and another holdup the day before.Jeremiah McMillon, 23, is charged with forcible sodomy and attempted robbery and rape in a gunpoint ... More >>

Natasha Martin, Carlyle Curry: Alleged "Ding Dong Bandits" Loved Robbing Hostess Stores

Martin and Curry: Do they serve snack cakes in prison?​Good news local Hostess Store employees. The couple police believe has been preying on you for months is now in police custody. Natasha Martin and Carlyle Curry -- aka the "Ding Dong" bandits -- were taken into custody Wednesday shortly after ... More >>

Jermaine Money: St. Louis Homicide No. 76; Assassinated in McRee Town

Jermaine Money, 25, of the 10000 block of Baron, was found shot to death Friday morning in the McRee Town neighborhood of central St. Louis. ​St. Louis police report that Money was shot in the head and chest in the 4100 block of Blaine around 2:48 a.m. August 27. He was taken to a local hospital a ... More >>

Asylum Denied: Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Kenneth Roberts: St. Louis Homicide No. 72; Killed in Violent Night of Gunplay

One man is dead and five other are hospitalized with gunshot wounds after four separate shootings in St. Louis over the past 24 hours.​The first shooting occurred yesterday afternoon around 3:35 p.m. in the 4700 block of Louisiana (above). That's where St. Louis police report that 44-year-old Kenn ... More >>

Seized: Inside the brutal world of America's kidnapping capital

Domestic Violence Center Shut Down for Being a Total Fraud

​A Fulton-based resource center for battered women has been ordered by the state to shut down all operations. This shouldn't be terribly difficult since the Battered Mother's Resource Fund (BMRF) never actually did anything anyway. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said in a news release ... More >>

Five Injured in Two Separate Shootings in Downtown St. Louis Today

St. Louis police are investigating two shootings today within several blocks of each other in downtown St. Louis -- one of which sent a bullet spilling into a bank where it grazed a woman. The first shooting occurred around 12:52 this morning when three people -- described by police as black males a ... More >>

South County Shooting Spree Leads to Three Arrests in Metro East

Three men are in custody on suspicion of shooting two men late last night and early this morning in the south St. Louis County. The first shooting occurred neary Jefferson Barracks Park. The second shooting followed minutes later at Baumgartner and Telegraph.​According to St. Louis County Police ... More >>

Marcus Blue & Jeremy Davis: East St. Louis Homicides No. 8 & 9; Shot During Memorial Day Domestic Disputes

Marcus Blue, a 23-year-old from Belleville, was shot to death Tuesday night at 1235 Boisemenue Ave, in East St. Louis. View Larger MapPolice were called to the residence at 12:48 a.m. when Blue attempted to enter the home, which belonged to his ex-girlfriend. Her new boyfriend, another 23-year-old ... More >>

Dennis Powell: Hannibal Man Sentenced for Drugs Busted Trying to Bring Pot to Prison

hannibal.netDennis Powell​If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again. That's the lesson learned from Dennis R. Powell. Powell, 19, was being processed at the Marion County Jail in Palmyra, Missouri, this month on a previous drug charge when authorities say they discovered marijuana on the new ... More >>

Violent Crime Dropped One Percent in St. Louis in '09; Nationwide Dropped 5.5 Percent

​The FBI yesterday released its uniform crime report for 2009. The data shows that violent crime nationwide dropped by 5.5 percent and property crimes declined by 4.9 percent compared to 2008 figures. The results weren't nearly as good here in St. Louis, although crime in both categories did drop ... More >>