After De Soto Police got a call at approximately 4:30 a.m. on June 3 about a traffic accident at Hwy. 21 and Clarke Street, officers soon discovered the accident involved an SUV that was one of six vehicles stolen from the nearby Pettus Automotive dealership, 12836 Hwy. 21, Capt. Jeff Wynn said.
“When officers arrived, they found a 2020 Dodge Durango partially blocking Clarke Street. It was turned over on its side. They looked inside and it was unoccupied. They noticed key fobs on the floorboard, four of them. There were no license plates, just placards saying Pettus.
“The officers noticed two other vehicles nearby. They were running, with no one inside. All three of these vehicles belonged to Pettus.”
Wynn said the two idling vehicles were a silver 2019 Dodge Charger and a blue 2021 Dodge Charger.
“Both of these vehicles were extremely damaged,” he said. “They were about 200 yards north (of the vehicle on its side).”
Wynn said De Soto officers contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to help with the case. While De Soto officers worked at the scene on Hwy. 21, deputies investigated Pettus Automotive.
“Deputies noticed a window broken on the northeast side of the Pettus building,” Wynn said. “They also observed scattered papers and key fobs all along the parking lot. It looked like the business was ransacked.”
Wynn said surveillance footage showed at least six people wearing masks enter the Pettus Automotive building, while one person remained in a Cadillac STS.
He said the three other vehicles stolen in the incident were a white 2021 Dodge Durango, a white 2021 Dodge Challenger and a blue 2022 Dodge Charger, and those three vehicles were recovered later that day in the city of St. Louis.
“The blue Charger was recovered about 6:30 a.m. parked in a travel lane of I-55,” Wynn said.
He didn’t know exactly when and where in St. Louis the white 2021 Dodge Challenger and the white 2021 Dodge Durango were recovered.
Wynn said he did not know about damage to any of the three vehicles found in St. Louis.
He also didn’t have an estimate for the damage to any of the vehicles.
“It’s still under investigation,” Wynn said.
He said no arrests had been made as of today, June 7.
Anyone with information about the thefts is urged to call De Soto Police at 636-586-8891.