A 31-year-old Arnold man was arrested after he allegedly tried to force his way into three homes after abandoning a stolen SUV at Walmart. He also is suspected of smashing a window on an OATS Transportation van, Arnold Police reported.
The man was arrested early June 24 after police received a report about a man trying to enter a home in the 1700 block of Karpos Street through the front and rear doors. While responding to the call, another homeowner on Karpos Street reported someone trying to enter that house through a rear door, the report said.
Police got a third call shortly thereafter about a man breaking a window near the front door of a home in the 2000 block of Agape Street and reaching inside to unlock the door. The home on Agape Street is near the intersection with Karpos Street, which is off Missouri State Road, according to the report.
When police investigated the alleged break-in at the home on Agape Street, they discovered that a decorative rock was used to smash the window near the front door. They also viewed surveillance video that showed a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with gray and white stripes on the chest allegedly smashing the window before running into a wooded area, according to the report.
Police found a man wearing the same sweatshirt in the video on nearby East Drive. They stopped the man, who already was wanted in Arnold on warrants for shoplifting, destruction of property, possession of drug paraphernalia, domestic violence and resisting arrest, the report said.
After he was taken to the Police Station, police learned the man was linked to a stolen SUV that had been recovered at Walmart. The suspect also was suspected of damaging a window on a van owned by OATS Transit, Arnold Police reported.
Police allegedly found the man with a key to the SUV, a 2007 Toyota Highlander, that had been abandoned on the parking lot at Walmart, 2201 Michigan Ave. A window was broken on the SUV, which was reported stolen out of St. Louis on June 22. Arnold Police viewed the store’s video surveillance, which reportedly showed the man get out of the Highlander, enter the store and not return to the SUV on June 22, the report said.
Officers also questioned the man about the damaged OATS van that was found at about 5:40 a.m. June 24 in the parking lot at Lowe’s, 920 Arnold Commons Drive, which is near Karpos and Agape streets and East Drive. Investigators asked him about the estimated $500 in damage to the van, and the man allegedly said, “Oh, you saw that,” but he didn’t admit to damaging the van, Arnold Police reported.
After booking the man, Arnold Police held him for St. Louis Metropolitan Police, the report said.
Arnold Police will seek charges against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for first-degree burglary and first-degree tampering. Arnold Police also may seek a charge of second-degree property damage against the man stemming from the damage to the OATS van, Detective Lt. Jason Valentine said.