Brandon James Welch, 34, who previously lived in Arnold and Imperial, allegedly used obituary listing to target homes to steal from in Jefferson and St. Louis counties. He was initially arrested and charged in St. Louis County, and about two months later, he was charged with two counts of burglary in Jefferson County, court records show.
Welch on Oct. 13 was transferred to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro from the St. Louis County Jail in Clayton, according to jail records.
According to a probable-cause statement filed by St. Louis County Police, Welch on May 6 went to a home in the 2600 block of Blackforest Drive, where he allegedly stole a Lowe’s credit card, jewelry and a gun. Investigators wrote based on Welch’s Gmail account, he located the deceased victim's home by doing an online search for obituaries in the region and doing a search on the victim, and he then searched for directions to the victim’s home on the day of the burglary.
Phone records also allegedly showed Welch called the home on Blackforest Drive 15 times before the burglary, the report said.
Welch and another person were allegedly seen in surveillance video arriving at the Blackforest Drive home in a Dodge Ram. Welch also dropped his debit card and an allegedly stolen credit card at the house, according to the report.
The Lowe’s credit card was then used to purchase $3,000 worth of items through an online order. The Ram, which was seen at the Blackforest Drive home, was seen in surveillance video at Lowe’s to pick up the order, the report said.
However, the store only filled $500 worth of the online order when the Ram arrived. Store employees cancelled the rest of the order after being alerted of potential fraudulent use of the credit card, and Welch called the store twice after the remaining items were cancelled from the order, according to the report.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on June 10 charged Welch, who is listed as living in St. Louis, with second-degree burglary and two counts of stealing, all class D felonies each punishable by up to seven years in prison, court records show.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Aug. 27 charged Welch with two counts of second-degree burglary after connecting him to two home thefts, which appeared to have been targeted through obituary listings. The Jefferson County charges are considered class C felonies, which are punishable by three to 10 years in prison, due to Welch being convicted of first-degree burglary in August 2013 in St. Louis and possession of a controlled substance in June 2018 in St. Louis, according to court documents.
In March and April, Welch allegedly stole items from a home in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton and an Imperial home after targeting the homes through obituary listings. He also used a credit card stolen from the Imperial home to purchase items at the Home Depot store, 3865 Vogel Road, in Arnold, according to probable-cause statements filed by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
On March 20, Welch allegedly stole a handheld computer from a home in the 1000 block of Gingerroot Drive in the Fenton area. The residents were attending a funeral at the time of the alleged burglary, the probable-cause statement said.
Investigators learned that Welch searched the home’s address on Google Maps the day of the alleged burglary. They also found pictures of the stolen computer on Welch’s phone, the report said.
On April 1, deputies were called to a home in the 4500 block of Rhonda Sue Drive in Imperial after Welch allegedly forced his way into the house and stole documents from a wall safe. Investigators found pictures of the victim’s social security card and driver’s license on Welch’s phone, the probable-cause statement said.
Deputies were called back to the Imperial home on April 17 after Welch allegedly returned to the house, cut a section out of a floor safe and stole $16,000 worth of items and jewelry along with personal documents. Pictures of the jewelry, items and documents were found on Welch’s phone, the report said.
On April 27, deputies were called to the Imperial home again when investigators learned Welch had returned to the home again, but it did not appear that he stole anything, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
However, investigators also learned on that day that Welch used a stolen credit card to buy items at Home Depot, the report said.
It also was later learned that on April 30, Welch used the victim’s Best Buy credit card to buy an iPhone for $1,109.69, according to the report.