A Festus letter carrier delivering mail on Aug. 25 spotted a man allegedly trying to steal his postal truck, confronted him and a short time later, pointed him out to police as he casually walked by, Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said.
The incident occurred around 4:10 p.m. at Henry and South Fourth streets, and the suspect, a 30-year-old Festus man, was arrested a short time later.
“The (postal) employee, a 35-year-old man, said he parked his truck and took his keys with him,” Lewis said. “He looked over and saw the suspect inside the truck trying to start it, but couldn’t without the key. The employee went to the truck and the suspect grabbed a tub with mail and a backpack with mail.
“The employee just confronted the suspect and he got out of the truck. The suspect walked off.”
The chief said the suspect did not leave with any mail.
After the mailman reported the incident, officers arrived right away and caught up with the suspect.
“They were talking to the employee and the suspect walked by and the employee identified him,” Lewis said. “We took him into custody.”
The suspect was arrested and released pending application for warrants, Lewis said.
He said it was the second incident involving a postal truck his officers handled in recent weeks.
“We found a postal truck reported stolen in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago.”