A 28-year-old Arnold man and a 32-year-old St. Louis man were arrested after they allegedly were found with a tan 1997 Ford F-250 pickup that had been stolen in Eureka, along with tools and other items that had been removed from the pickup. The two men were arrested in St. Louis, the same day a 51-year-old High Ridge man said his F-250 pickup was stolen, Eureka Police reported.
The men were arrested at about 11:50 a.m. Nov. 4 after St. Louis Police found the pickup in the 300 block of Bellerive Boulevard. The 32-year-old allegedly was underneath the pickup trying to remove the catalytic converter, the report said.
The 28-year-old was in a maroon Ford E-350 van that allegedly had been seen in surveillance video when the pickup was stolen. In addition, items that the victim said were in his pickup were found in the van, according to the report.
The pickup was stolen at about 8:10 a.m. that day from outside Ace Hardware, 111 Hilltop Village Center Drive, in Eureka. The victim said he had left his driver-side door unlocked, but he had the key to the pickup, the report said.
Surveillance video showed someone driving the van near the pickup a few minutes before someone left the parking lot in the pickup. The van was seen trailing the pickup as it left the lot, according to the report.
The victim said he had a Stihl weed trimmer, Stihl chainsaw and Dewalt radio in his pickup. Those items, along with a gray center console from a Ford pickup, a jacket and personal papers and items with the victim’s name on it, allegedly were found in the van, which also had been reported stolen, Eureka Police said.
The pickup and stolen items were returned to the victim, who turned over a cell phone to Eureka Police on Nov. 8 after finding it in the pickup, the report said.
Lt. Michael Werges said St. Louis Police were seeking charges for first-degree tampering and possession of stolen items against the two men who were arrested.