A 46-year-old Arnold-area woman was arrested twice Sept. 13 after allegedly stealing three vehicles and trying to steal two others, authorities report.
First, the woman allegedly stole a 1995 Suburban from an address on Pearl Drive outside the Arnold city limits, which isn’t far from where she lives, said Lt. Gary Higginbotham of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Not long afterwards, on Sept. 13, the Sheriff’s Office arrested her for that alleged theft and then released her that day pending application for warrants, Higginbotham said.
A short time after being released from the Jefferson County Jail, at about 10:40 a.m., the woman allegedly stole a 1990 Chevrolet truck from the parking lot at First Baptist Church of Hillsboro, 10545 Business 21, and then drove it to an address in the 7000 block of Old Hwy. 21 in the Barnhart area, where it was abandoned and recovered by authorities sometime between 11 a.m. and noon, Hillsboro Police Chief Charles Bennett said.
The woman’s alleged crime spree continued, though, and she reportedly stole a 2004 Ford Focus from a home in the 7000 block of Old Hwy. 21 near where the truck was abandoned, Higginbotham said.
She apparently wasn’t satisfied with that vehicle, though, because she drove it to an address in the 8400 block of Old Hwy. 21 in the Hillsboro area and abandoned it there and then tried to steal two vehicles there, but someone who lived at the home stopped her, Higginbotham said.
While at the home in the 8400 block of Old Hwy. 21, she first tired to steal a 2011 GMC Yukon and had started to back it out of the garage when the owner’s daughter confronted her. Then, the suspect got out of that vehicle and tried to steal a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban but couldn’t get it started, so she fled the scene, Higginbotham said.
However, the Missouri State Highway Patrol spotted her a short time later, and she again was arrested.
The Sheriff’s Office booked her and again released her pending application for warrants.
Both the Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsboro Police will seek felony charges against her through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
As of today (Sept. 21), though, no charges had been filed, Higginbotham said.