A 38-year-old Arnold-area man’s hunch led to the arrest of a 32-year-old St. Louis man. The Arnold-area man told police someone had tried to break into his car early that morning at an apartment complex on Lakewood Landing just outside the Arnold city limits, and he believed he spotted a Jeep at the Arnold Walmart that the would-be thief had driven away in, Arnold Police reported.
The Arnold-area man called police at about 8:10 a.m. Sept. 11, after he saw a green 1998 Jeep Cherokee parked at the store, 2201 Michigan Ave. The Arnold-area man said after the suspect unsuccessfully tried to break into his car, he got into a Jeep with a broken window, and drove away, and the Jeep at Walmart matched that description, the report said.
After officers looked at the store’s video surveillance, they located the man who drove the Jeep onto the parking lot as he was exiting the business. The man allegedly had stolen $83.72 worth of merchandise from the store, according to the report.
The officers also learned the Jeep had been reported stolen in St Louis, the report said.
The man was taken to the Arnold Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants. Arnold Police will seek charges against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for first-degree tampering, driving with a suspended license and shoplifting, Cpt. Brett Ackermann said.