Arnold Police are trying to find a 49-year-old Imperial man suspected of stealing at least three vehicles in the city since Jan. 15, Cpl. Brett Ackermann said Feb. 9.
All three vehicles have been recovered and returned to their owners, police reported
The most recent theft happened about 6 p.m. Feb. 1, when a 2015 Toyota Corolla was stolen from outside the Together Credit Union, 1334 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold. The victim, a 57-year-old St. Louis man, said he left the car unlocked and running while he was warming it up, the report said.
St. Louis County Police found the car, which was valued at about $15,000, on Feb. 2 off Meramec Bottom Road. It is believed the alleged thief abandoned the car there and stole a different one and left the area, according to the report.
The Imperial man also may be connected to a theft that happened about 6 p.m. Jan. 25 outside a Mobil On the Run gas station, 3611 the West Outer Road, in Arnold. The man is suspected of stealing a woman’s 2007 Ford Freestar, which was left running on the parking lot when she went inside the convenience store, the report said.
The woman tracked her cell phone, which was left in the van, to Hazelwood. However, when Hazelwood Police went to the location later that night, they only found the phone, according to the report.
The van was then seen at about 9 p.m. Jan. 26 at a gas station in Columbia, Ill., but officers were unable to stop the van. It was finally recovered on Jan. 28 on Essex Drive in Arnold, the report said.
Arnold Police believe the Imperial man is responsible for the van’s theft because he previously had been arrested and allegedly confessed to a similar vehicle theft, which occurred about 9 a.m. Jan. 15 outside the Circle K gas station, 2045 Key West Drive, in Arnold. In that theft, the man allegedly stole a 2005 Nissan Armanda that had been left unlocked and running while the victim was in the convenience store, Arnold Police reported.
A witness description of the man who allegedly stole the van on Jan. 25 matches the man who was arrested for the theft of the SUV on Jan. 15, police reported.
In the Jan. 15 theft, the Imperial man reportedly could be seen in surveillance video arriving at a car wash next to the gas station in a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, abandoning that SUV and taking the Armada. The suspect later returned to the car wash to retrieve his cell phone from the Pathfinder, which was being towed, the report said.
Police were called to the car wash, and the man allegedly confessed to taking the Armada, which was then retrieved and returned to the victim, according to the report.
The man was arrested and taken to the Arnold Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants, Detective Lt. Jason Valentine said.
As of Feb. 9, police were still trying to find the Imperial man to question him about the Jan 25 and Feb. 1 thefts, Ackermann said. Anyone with information about the incidents should call Arnold Police at 636-296-3204.