Eureka Police arrested a 46-year-old Chesterfield man for reportedly damaging an SUV outside the Poor Richard’s restaurant, 108 Hilltop Village Center Drive. The man allegedly shattered a window and damaged the two doors on the driver’s side of the 2017 Cadillac XT5, the report said.
The suspect reportedly damaged the vehicle because he believed the man driving the SUV and a female passenger had tried to scam him out of money by using a fake winning ticket to try to collect money from a “no chance gambling” machine inside the restaurant. A “no chance gambling” machine allow players to insert money and have the option to push a small button to reveal if they’ll win or lose, but only on the next play.
The incident occurred at about 5:45 p.m. July 3 after the man and woman allegedly tried to pass a fraudulent winning ticket for approximately $600. The two were outside the restaurant when the Chesterfield man arrived and confronted them in the parking lot, according to the report. When the
The Chesterfield man said the other two got into the SUV and he tried to stop them from leaving because he believed they had printers in the SUV that had been used to create fake winning tickets. He also said he tried to take photos of the man and woman in the SUV, the report said.
When the two tried to drive away, the Chesterfield man allegedly hit the SUV’s driver’s side window with his phone, shattering the glass, and he kicked the front and back door on the driver’s side, the report said.
After that, the man who had been driving the SUV ran away, but the woman remained by the vehicle and was there when police arrived. She told investigators that after she and her friend arrived at the restaurant, he Chesterfield man confronted them in the restaurant and followed them to her SUV and then damaged it, according to the report.
The woman would not provide police with a phone number for the man who ran away. However, she said she wanted to press charges against the Chesterfield man for allegedly damaging the SUV, the report said.
The Chesterfield man was taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application of charges, according to the report.
Eureka Police will seek a charge against the man through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for destruction of property, Capt. Michael Werges said.