Five men accused of a crime spree on April 26 in St. Louis and Jefferson counties, including firing shots at a female driver in Arnold, were taken into custody that night. The suspects range in age from 17 to 26. Their hometowns are not listed in the St. Louis County Police report.
St. Louis County Police reported that the incident began with a car-jacking at about 3 a.m., when an orange Dodge Ram pickup was stolen in another jurisdiction.
Arnold Police Lt. Tom Leassner said several men were in the pickup, which began chasing a 2017 Jeep Cherokee on southbound I-55, and both vehicles exited the interstate at Richardson Road in Arnold.
At 9:31 p.m., the Cherokee was stopped at a traffic light on Richardson Road, and the pickup pulled alongside it and someone from inside the truck shot at the passenger side of the Cherokee. Then, the pickup driver pulled in front of the Cherokee and made a U-turn around it, and someone from inside the truck shot at the Cherokee’s driver side. After that, the pickup fled north on I-55, Leassner said.
The woman in the Cherokee was not struck by the shots, he said.
St. Louis County Police reported that at about 10:35 p.m., officers spotted the pickup around Lewis and Clark Boulevard and Jennings Station Road in north St. Louis County and attempted to stop the pickup, but the driver failed to stop. Police began chasing the pickup, and it went north on Hwy. 367 to eastbound I-270.
“As the suspect vehicle reached the bridge, it struck another vehicle and became disabled. Five suspects fled from the vehicle and all were taken into custody. Numerous firearms were recovered,” the report said.
A St. Louis County Police spokesman said he had no other information about the suspects.