John W. Gaynor, 30, of Cedar Hill has been charged with a felony in connection with a burglary this summer at the Pevely Street Department building, where items worth more than $100,000 were stolen.
He was charged Oct. 11 with tampering with a motor vehicle, a class D felony, after his ID was found near one of the trucks stolen during the Pevely burglary, according to court records.
If convicted, Gaynor faces up to seven years in prison. He was being held Tuesday in the Jefferson County Jail on a $75,000 surety bond.
On July 29, Pevely Street Department employees discovered the building had been broken into and numerous items had been stolen, including a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup, three chain saws, a plasma cutter, 40 gallons of gas and a variety of tools. The employees also reported that the intruders caused a lot of damage to the building and items inside it, authorities reported.
“As of today, we have recovered both stolen vehicles, but none of the other items,” Pevely Police Capt. Larry Miller said Oct. 18. “Both vehicles have been processed and evidence has been sent to the lab. Both trucks are totaled out by insurance.”
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, the burglary occurred July 26, and on July 31, the stolen Silverado was recovered in Morse Mill and a cell phone was found just outside of the truck. Gaynor’s driver’s license reportedly was found in the cell phone case. After obtaining a search warrant, photographs of some of the stolen property allegedly were found saved in the cell phone, including a photograph of the Silverado.
Miller said the investigation is ongoing.
“We are still looking for his accomplices,” he said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had arrested Gaynor Oct. 9 for other offenses before he was charged in connection with the burglary at the Pevely Street Department building, Miller said.