Two High Ridge men have been accused of being connected to thefts from a storage facility south of Festus. One of the men was arrested and is scheduled to appear in court later this month, and the other man has not been arrested, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and court records.
Bobby Joseph Smith, 34, was arrested on June 24 and released three days later on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County Court on July 21 for another bond hearing, according to court documents.
Smith has been charged with two felony counts for stealing and a felony count of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle after allegedly stealing items and a trailer from the storage facility and driving a stolen SUV, court records said.
Joshua Bryan Engelman, 36, had not been arrested as of June 29, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Engelman has been charged with two felony counts of receiving stolen property, a felony count of possession of a controlled substance, a felony count of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and three misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property. He allegedly was at a home where items stolen from the storage facility were located, and he was working on a stolen motorcycle and found with methamphetamine when deputies recovered the stolen items, according to court documents.
According to a probable-cause statement filed by the Sheriff’s Office, Smith, Engelman and a 31-year-old Imperial woman on March 21, 2025, allegedly stole items from at least five storage units at 67 Storage, 2100 Hwy. 67, south of Festus.
On June 29, the Sheriff’s Office reported the woman had not been charged in connection to the thefts.
On March 23, 2025, a deputy stopped Smith while he was driving a stolen 2008 Ford Explorer near Hwy. 30 and Delores Drive in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton. Smith was allegedly hauling the silver-and-black Silverline Cynergy-Z trailer that was stolen from storage facility when he was stopped, the report said.
Smith allegedly admitted to stealing items from the storage facility and the trailer, according to the report.
On March 28, 2025, investigators went to a home in the 25300 block of Buck Creek Road west of Festus, and they recovered multiple stolen items, according to the case’s probable-cause statement.
Investigators recovered a crossbow, two compound bows, 12-volt power pack, two Horman garage door openers and an Addison electric fireplace that were stolen from one storage unit. The estimated combined value of the items was $1,850, the report said.
They also recovered a briefcase and canvas box, where were estimated to be worth a combined $200, that were stolen from another unit, and a paint spray gun and stick welder worth about $300 combined that were stolen from one of the units, according to the report.
Another victim’s 47-inch Vizio television, worth an estimated $100, and two toolboxes, a Stihl leaf blower and two compound bows, which were estimated to be worth a combined $1,100, that were stolen from a fifth victim were recovered at the home, the report said.
When investigators arrived at the home, Engelman was working on a 2015 Kawasaki motorcycle that was reportedly stolen in St. Charles, and investigators allegedly found a white crystal-like substance in a bathroom. The Missouri State Highway Patrol tested the substance and identified it was meth, according to the report.
Engelman allegedly admitted to stealing the motorcycle, and he said the meth belonged to him, the report said.
Smith and Engelman are considered persistent offenders because both have been convicted for prior felony charges.
Smith was found guilty of first-degree property damage in May 2023 and third-degree domestic assault in July 2024, court records show.
Engelman was found guilty of stealing in March 2015 and second-degree burglary in January 2016. According to the warrant issued for his arrest, Engelman was scheduled to appear in court in August 2025 for five other felony cases, but he cut off a court-ordered ankle monitor before he was scheduled to appear in court.