Eureka Police arrested a 45-year-old Cahokia, Ill., man for allegedly trying to steal parts from pickups outside Midwest Motors, 1400 S. Outer Road.
The owner of nearby St. Louis RV Storage called Eureka Police at about 10:10 p.m. May 28 and reported that his surveillance system alerted him that a motorcycle was traveling on a dead-end gravel road between the two businesses. When officers arrived, they searched the area for about an hour but did not find the motorcycle, the report said.
However, an officer returned to the businesses at about 1:05 a.m. May 29 and heard what sounded like a car alarm from the parking lot at Midwest Motors. Then the officer spotted lights flashing and an alarm sounding on a Ford pickup, according to the report.
The officer also reportedly saw a red 2010 Honda Silver Wing parked near the pickup and a man standing in front of the pickup. The hood was up on the pickup. The officer told the man to stop, and he eventually came out with his hands up, the report said.
The man was arrested, and the officer discovered a window was smashed on the pickup. The officer also discovered that five other pickups had smashed windows and hoods popped open, Eureka Police reported.
Police reportedly found a sledgehammer and impact drill in the motorcycle’s cargo area, and investigators believe the man was looking for a specific part for a Ford pickup. Each of the damaged pickups were Fords made between 2008 and 2017, the report said.
Four of the pickups belong to Midwest Motors customers who had left them there to be repaired, and the business owns the other two pickups. The damage to the pickups was estimated at about $5,700, according to the report.
The man was taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants. Eureka Police will seek charges against the man through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for felony property damage and second-degree trespassing.