John Matthew Berry
A man accused of robbing a Eureka bank has been charged with stealing following his arrest a day after the incident.
John Matthew Berry, 57, of St. Louis has been charged with stealing from a financial institution, a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison. As of Monday, he was being held on a $100,000 bond in the St. Louis County Jail, court documents show.
Berry was arrested at about 1 p.m. Nov. 24 near his home on South Broadway in St. Louis. Eureka Police detectives arrested him with assistance from the Real Time Crime Center and St. Louis Police, Eureka Police Capt. Michael Werges said in a statement on Monday.
“Despite deliberate efforts to conceal his identity and evade law enforcement, the swift and coordinated response by law enforcement agencies resulted in his apprehension within 24 hours of the crime,” Werges said in the statement. “It should be noted that a search of Berry’s residence revealed evidence of a recent unsolved business burglary in another jurisdiction.”
Eureka Police were called at about 11:25 a.m. Nov. 23 to the Commerce Bank, 203 E. Fifth St., following the alleged robbery. Berry allegedly demanded money from a teller and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, police reported.
Investigators requested the public’s help in the investigation, asking anyone near the bank between 11 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. to call the Eureka Police.
Police circulated a picture from the bank’s surveillance video showing a man wearing a white surgical-type mask, white sock cap, drab olive-colored sweater and blue jeans. He was described as middle aged and approximately 5-feet-10-inches tall.
Eureka Police also posted a video of a white pickup leaving the area following the alleged robbery on its Facebook page.
“The Eureka Police Department would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to community members who provided critical tips and video footage and to our media and law enforcement partners for their unwavering support,” Werges said. “Their collaboration was instrumental in ensuring the prompt apprehension of this suspect.”
Eureka Police reported Berry has an extensive criminal history that includes prior robbery and burglary offenses.