Dennis Dewrock, 29, of Arnold is facing multiple felony charges after he was found in a pickup that had been reported stolen in St. Louis County. He was found in the truck and arrested three months after he allegedly stole or attempted to steal from three businesses on Lemay Ferry Road, St. Louis County Police reported.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Dewrock on March 16 with three counts of stealing more than $750 and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, each one a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, and one count of first-degree property damage, a class E felony that carries a penalty up to four years in prison, court records show.
Dewrock was being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond, St. Louis County Police said.
Court papers do not list an attorney for Dewrock.
He was arrested March 14 in the 800 block of Karlsruhe Place in St. Louis County after allegedly leading police on a pursuit while driving a 1999 Chevrolet S-10 that had been reported stolen March 13 from the 600 block of West Ripa Avenue in Lemay, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Metropolitan St. Louis Police saw the stolen pickup in the 5200 block of Louisiana Avenue and chased it into St. Louis County. Dewrock abandoned the pickup on Karlsruhe Place and ran away but was arrested after a pursuit on foot, the report said.
He allegedly told police a friend had loaned him the pickup and told him, “Don’t get caught. You know it’s a box.” He declined to talk when interviewed by St. Louis County Police investigators, according to the report.
Investigators suspect Dewrock is responsible for a series of thefts and an attempted theft that occurred Dec. 12, 2021, on Lemay Ferry Road, the probable-cause statement said.
In the early morning hours, Dewrock allegedly was seen in surveillance video driving a red Dodge Ram spotted outside DN Automotive, 745 Lemay Ferry Road, where wheels and tires, worth about $3,840 were stolen from a 2012 GMC Yukon, the report said.
The Ram was then seen in surveillance video outside the Parker Insurance Group, 762 Lemay Ferry Road, pulling a trailer worth an estimated $2,500 through the insurance company’s parking lot. The trailer scraped the side of a 2008 Ford F-250, causing more than $1,600 worth of damage, and was abandoned at the business, according to the report.
The Ram was then seen outside S&M Automotive, 237 Lemay Ferry Road, where it allegedly was used to steal a different trailer valued at about $2,000, the probable-cause statement said.
Investigators reported Dewrock was seen in the surveillance video driving the Ram during all three incidents.