An Imperial man accused of stealing items, including a gun, was recently arrested. He was identified after he contacted another man to use a stolen debit card at a convenience store, according to court documents.
Gunner Allen Haywood, 27, was arrested on July 7, and as of July 9, he was being held on a $50,000 bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court and jail records show.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on June 23 charged Haywood with felony stealing and felony stealing of a firearm. He allegedly stole from the unlocked vehicles in August 2025 when he was on probation after pleading guilty to charges of resisting arrest, escape from custody and violating a protection order, court records said.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Aug. 25, 2025, were called to homes in the Imperial, High Ridge, Fenton and Arnold areas after items were stolen from unlocked vehicles during the overnight hours. Items that were reported stolen included a .380-caliber Ruger firearm, jewelry, a knife, a debit card and coins.
A Kia SUV was seen in surveillance video at three of the four crime locations, the report said.
A woman contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 27, 2025, to report that someone had attempted to make a purchase with her stolen debit card at a convenience store. The $20 transaction was declined, according to the report.
Investigators went to the convenience store and obtained surveillance video, which the Kia SUV that was allegedly seen in video from the night of the thefts and a Chevrolet Malibu outside of the store. A man was seen exiting the Malibu, going to the Kia to get something from the driver of the SUV and then entering the store, the report said.
The man from the Malibu was allegedly seen in the store attempting to use multiple cards to make purchases at the same time the woman’s stolen debit card was attempted to be charged. The man left the store, and the Kia and Malibu were seen leaving the parking lot at the same time, according to the report.
Investigators used Flock license-plate reading cameras to identify Haywood as the owner of the Kia, and the man who attempted to use the stolen debit card also was identified, the report said.
When investigators interviewed the man who was seen in the store, he said Haywood gave him several credit cards to use at the convenience store. He also said he did not know about the thefts from vehicles, and he told investigators that Haywood said he got money out of a car, according to the report.
The man allowed investigators to search his cell phone, and the investigators found conversations between the man and Haywood. During the conversations, Haywood allegedly said people should lock their cars, the report said.
On Aug. 31, 2025, Arnold Police arrested Haywood. The vehicle Haywood was driving at the time was searched, and investigators allegedly found items that were reported to have been stolen on Aug. 25, according to the report.
When investigators searched Haywood’s cell phone, they allegedly found out that Haywood’s phone was in the vicinity of the thefts from vehicles and the convenience store when the stole debit card was attempted to be used, the report said.
Investigators also allegedly found a message Haywood sent to a relative on Aug. 28, 2025, discussing that pulling on door handles of vehicles was felony. Haywood allegedly told the relative that it is the person’s fault if they leave their door unlocked and they were “asking for it,” according to the report.