De Soto Police are seeking felony stealing charges against a 41-year-old Park Hills man for allegedly stealing items from two auto dealerships, Detective Rick Draper said.
At about 2 a.m. June 29, the man allegedly got into vehicles parked at the Friends and Family auto dealership, 1740 N. Main St., in De Soto and stole three car stereos, a truck tool box and some car batteries, altogether valued at $432, Draper said.
The theft was caught on video surveillance, he said.
Sometime that same day the man allegedly stole four tires valued at $6,000 off a 2015 Ford F150 at the Auto Plaza Ford dealership, 12836 Hwy. 21, in De Soto, Draper said.
The dealership put information on social media about the theft and learned that the suspect had sold the tires to someone, so the dealership paid that person $400 to get the tires back, Draper said.
De Soto Police were able to identify the suspect and then learned on July 10 that St. Francois County authorities had taken the man into custody on an unrelated offense – a burglary in that jurisdiction, Draper said.
A De Soto detective went to the St. Francois Jail to interview the suspect, and he allegedly admitted to the thefts, Draper said.
“Hopefully, the victim (Auto Plaza Ford) will get their money back through the court system,” Draper said.
As of Tuesday (July 14), the items stolen from the Friends and Family dealership had not been recovered, Draper said.
“We’re working on that,” he said.
De Soto Police will seek charges against the suspect through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, but none had been filed as of Tuesday.
The suspect was still being held Tuesday at the St. Francois County Jail on a $30,000 bond tied to the charge in that county, Draper added.