The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 42-year-old O’Fallon man for an alleged burglary after the man was seen coming out of a vacant business building on Ligouri Drive in Liguori near Barnhart. Deputies had increased their presence around the building because of ongoing property damage and theft, police reported.
At about 6:50 p.m. Oct. 3, a deputy saw a white van parked near the building, When he approached the van, he saw a copper pipe near a broken window of the building, the report said.
After searching the area, the deputy saw the man exit the building and stopped him. The man told the deputy he was inside the building to take pictures and record video for his YouTube channel, which he hadn’t created yet, according to the report.
The deputy then searched the man and allegedly found a metal file. The man was arrested and taken to Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, where he was booked and released pending the application for charges.
The Sheriff’s Office will seek a charge against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for second-degree burglary, said Lt. Col. Tim Whitney, the undersheriff.
“This was incredible, proactive policing done by Deputy (Brian) Gaffney, who identified the crime in progress and ultimately gathered the evidence necessary to make the arrest,” Whitney said.