A junkyard dog apparently wasn’t enough to keep a burglar or burglars from stealing $3,000 worth of scrap metal from a Pevely business.
The owner of Pingel Exchanger Service, 1185 Mason Circle North, arrived at the business about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 28 and discovered the theft.
“He found the back gate open slightly and saw the lock had been cut on the gate,” Pevely Police Chief Ron Weeks said. “He looked around and determined that $3,000 worth of carbon steel scrap metal had been taken.”
There was no apparent attempt to enter the building, Weeks said.
“They kept a canine in the yard,” the chief said. “The dog was still there.”
Weeks said there were no suspects in the case, even though it is similar to another theft Nov. 12 from American Steel Fabrication on Mason Circle North. A $700 piece of steel was taken in that theft. Security video showed three suspects loading the steel into an older Chevrolet pickup truck. Police have yet to locate the truck or the suspects, Weeks said.