Pevely Police arrested a 34-year-old De Soto man May 18 for suspicion of stealing a truck and drug possession.
When warrants did not arrive within the 24-hour window of his arrest, he was released and within minutes, at about 1 p.m. May 19, he allegedly stole another vehicle from a woman after she parked it near Pevely Elementary School when she went inside to pick up her children, Pevely Police Sgt. Greg Long said.
The saga began when an off-duty police officer notified Pevely Police he was following a driver who was driving erratically on southbound I-55. The man got off at the Pevely exit and drove the 2000 Ram pickup to the McDonald’s restaurant on Hwy. Z.
When Pevely Police Cpl. Ben Litterall approached, the vehicle was still running but the driver appeared to have nodded off, Long said.
He said Litterall ran the license plate, which came back as stolen from the city of St. Louis. He arrested the man and found what appeared to be heroin capsules in the truck.
Shortly after the man was released on May 19, Pevely Police were called to the elementary school. A 37-year-old Pevely woman reported her 2003 Chevy Silverado truck had been stolen while she went to get her children, Long said.
“At 8:15 p.m. that night, the vehicle, along with the suspect, were recovered in the city of St. Louis,” Long said.
Charges are pending, he said Tuesday (May 23).