A 31-year-old High Ridge man has been charged with two felonies for allegedly trying to hold up the BP gas station, 101 Old Sugar Creek Road, in unincorporated Fenton last week. When the clerk told the man that police were on their way to the convenience store, he fled with soda and beef jerky that he had not paid for, authorities reported.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Steven Michael Deering on Aug. 6 with first-degree robbery, a class A felony that carries a penalty of 10 to 30 years or life in prison, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony that is punishable by three to 15 years in prison, court records show.
Deering was being held without bond on Monday, Aug. 8, at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro.
On Aug. 5, Deering entered the gas station carrying what looked like a gun and a crossbow on his back. He went to the counter and allegedly told the clerk, “You know what this is; give me all the money,” the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Deering near the gas station after confirming his identity through surveillance video showing tattoos and other physical characteristics that matched the suspect, according to the report.
After Deering was arrested, deputies determined the gun he had been carrying was a toy, the probable-cause statement said.