The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help to identify a man who burglarized Plaza Pawn, 1077 Gravois Road, in Fenton early Saturday morning (April 30).
At 3:48 a.m., the man used a rock to break glass in the front door to the business to get inside and then stole five black powder rifles and two pellet guns, altogether valued at about $1,430, said Lt. Gary Higginbotham of the Sheriff’s Office.
He said the man had a hard time carrying all the weapons, dropping and picking them back up more than once during the burglary.
The suspect eventually made his way out of the rear of the building and left on foot, headed west, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
It was the second time last month that Plaza Pawn was burglarized.
At about 3:20 a.m. April 19, someone burglarized it, but the Sheriff’s Office believes that culprit is a black man.
The man suspected in the April 30 burglary is white and has a dark full beard and mustache, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
In addition, the suspect was wearing a blue jacket with a hood attached, the report said.
“He (the suspect) has been known to wear the jacket turned inside out,” and the inside is a lighter color, according to the report.
The Sheriff’s Office suspects the man in recent months may have twice burglarized a nearby business – the Quik Stop, 1091 Gravois Road, Higginbotham said.
That store was burglarized on March 30 and again on April 3, and in both cases, the culprit broke glass in the front door to get inside and then stole items, authorities reported.
During the March 30 burglary, the culprit broke into a coin game and stole an undetermined amount of money, the report said.
In the April 3 burglary, the culprit stole about $3,000 in cigarettes, and it looked like he also tried to break glass on a coin machine, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Also during that burglary, the culprit apparently dropped cartons of cigarettes during his getaway because deputies found some lying on the ground, as well as a trail of glass leading east around the building, the report said.
Deputies have viewed surveillance footage from the burglaries, and the Sheriff’s Office hopes someone can identify the suspect from a surveillance photo from the April 30 burglary at Plaza Pawn.
Anyone with information about his identity is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 636-797-5515.