Eureka Police are trying to find a man and woman facing a felony for allegedly trying to rob a man. On Feb. 1, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged both Aurelion Furdui, 27, of Liberty and Cati-Elena Maruntelu, 25, of Houston, Texas, with attempted robbery, a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison, court records show.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Furdui and Maruntelu allegedly used a knife in an attempt to force a 71-year-old St. Louis man to give them money on Jan. 18 when they encountered him on a QuikTrip parking lot, 290 E. Fourth St. The victim said Furdui asked him for money, and after that, Maruntelu took him into the gas station’s convenience store to withdraw money from an ATM, the report said.
The man was unable to withdraw money, though, so Maruntelu escorted him out of the store and led him into a 2023 Chevrolet Equinox Furdui was driving. A child also was in the SUV, according to the report.
After getting into the Equinox, the man said Maruntelu pulled out a knife and told him not to talk. Furdui then drove the SUV to an Electro Savings Credit Union, where the man had an account, and Maruntelu went inside with the man, but he still was unable to withdraw money from his account, the report said.
The man and Maruntelu returned to the SUV, and Furdui drove back to the QuikTrip gas station, where the man got away from the suspects the probable-cause statement said.
Investigators used surveillance video and determined Furdui rented the Equinox from Hertz. They also showed the video to Department of Homeland Security members, who identified Furdui and Maruntelu, the report said.
As of Feb. 2, the two had not been arrested, Eureka Police Capt. Michael Werges said.