Anthony Amos Sartin, 39, who police say has addresses in the Festus area and in Cahokia, Ill., has been charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor in connection with a June 13 crime spree in Festus, according to court records.
At 4:30 p.m., Festus Police got a call from the first victims – a man, his wife and their daughter. The man and wife said they returned to their house in the 800 block of Burns Court and allegedly found a man inside, Chief Tim Lewis said.
“(The homeowners) called 911 and (the suspect) ran off to the south, into the woods,” Lewis said.
After the suspect fled from that house, Festus Police got calls from victims at two other homes in the area, Lewis said
“A short time later we got a call of an assault and attempted burglary in the 900 block of Sugar Creek Drive. This second call matched the suspect of the first call. The victim, a 28-year-old female, was not seriously injured,” Lewis said.
“The suspect then ran off toward a barn in the 11000 block of Pounds Road and the 37-year-old male homeowner looked out of his house and saw the suspect trying to steal a 2018 black Chevy Colorado pickup truck.”
At that point, officers arrived and arrested Sartin, Lewis said.
He said police allegedly found Sartin with items from the Burns Court house.
The probable-cause statement in the case said the residents of the house on Burns Court found the suspect in a bathroom, and his middle finger was bleeding. Later, police found a blood-covered, white shirt in the bathroom sink.
It looked like the suspect entered the house through a rear door that had been left unlocked and stole jewelry, gift and debit cards, and other personal items, the report said.
The female assault victim at the Sugar Creek home said the suspect approached her asking for water and when she told him she didn’t have any he attacked her, according to the report.
“He charged at me, kicked, scratched and tried to punch me,” the woman said. “He shoved me to the ground.”
Police said the woman had “a large laceration” on her arm and was treated by Joachim-Plattin Ambulance personnel, but she was not transported to a hospital, the report said.
When apprehended, the suspect allegedly was driving the Chevy Colorado, getting ready to exit the driveway, the probable-cause statement said.
The homeowner said the pickup belonged to his beekeeper, who was working behind the house at the time of the vehicle theft, the report said.
Once Sartin was placed in a police car, he allegedly damaged the in-car audio charging system. The damage was estimated at $100, according to the report.
Sartin was charged June 14 with first-degree burglary, a class B felony; stealing $750 or more, and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, both class D felonies; third-degree assault, a class E felony; and second-degree property damage, a class B misdemeanor.
The class B felony is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and each of the class D felonies carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. The class E felony is punishable by up to four years in prison, and the misdemeanor carries a penalty up to six months in jail.
As of today (June 22), Sartin was still being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond.