Eureka Police believe a man and woman from Georgia and two men and a woman from North Carolina are part of a lawn care equipment theft ring after riding lawnmowers were stolen from the Dickey Bub Farm and Home store, 100 Hilltop Village Center Drive, police reported.
Officers were called to the Eureka store on April 11 after six lawnmowers were stolen. The lawnmowers were worth a total of $32,244, the report said.
Surveillance video allegedly showed at about 2:50 a.m., two men cutting chains that had secured the lawnmowers outside the business. At about 3:15 a.m., a pickup with a flatbed trailer drove up to the building, according to the report.
The surveillance video allegedly showed the men riding the lawnmowers to the trailer at three separate times before the pickup and trailer are last seen leaving the business at about 3:50 a.m., the report said.
Eureka Police also saw on surveillance video that the pickup that was hauling the trailer and a U-Haul box truck traveled together on Hilltop Village Center Drive. The pickup and truck were then seen by Flock license-plate reading cameras getting on I-44, according to the report.
Investigators believe a 25-year-old Forest Park, Ga., man, a 27-year-old Charolette, N.C., man and a 25-year-old Atlanta woman had purchased a different riding lawnmower and three chainsaws at Dickey Bub the day before the theft of the six riding lawnmowers. The three used two different credit cards to pay for the items and were seen leaving in a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado, the report said.
On April 12, the Atlanta Police reported it located the Silverado at an address connected to the man and woman for Georgia. However, Atlanta Police officers were not able to identify either the man or woman that had been seen in the Dickey Bub store, according to the report.
On April 14, Eureka Police detectives discovered the U-Haul truck had been rented in Fenton on April 10, and the truck was recovered in Charlotte, N.C., on April 16, the report said.
Detectives then allegedly found a Facebook page created by the North Carolina man that sells lawnmowers and other lawn care equipment at a reduced price. The page had lawnmowers that were similar to the ones stolen from Dickey Bub listed for sale, according to the report.
Eureka Police also learned that on April 8, a 29-year-old Gastonia, N.C., woman and a 38-year-old Charlotte, N.C., man had attempted to a buy a chainsaw with fraudulent credit cards at Dickey Bub. The man and woman were traveling in a 2022 Kia Sedona van along with the other younger man from Charlotte, the report said.
The three were also seen traveling in the van when they attempted to buy lawn care equipment with allegedly fake credit cards in O’Fallon and Wentzville. The van was located near the home of the woman from Gastonia, N.C., according to the report.
As of April 28, none of the stolen lawnmowers had been recovered, and none of the suspects had been arrested, Lt. Michael Tapp said. He said Eureka Police are seeking warrants for the arrest of the five people for stealing and fraudulent use of credit cards.