A St. Louis man and a Georgia man face felony charges after they reportedly stole items from the Eureka Walmart, and one of them allegedly rammed a Eureka Police cruiser and led officers on a chase through St. Louis County and city, authorities reported
Anthony Ray Maxwell, 31, of St. Louis was the driver of the pickup and allegedly rammed the police cruiser. He was charged with stealing, a class D felony, and resisting arrest by fleeing and creating a substantial risk of serious injury or death, a class E felony, court records show.
Malcolm A. Burks, 59, of Decatur, Ga., was charged with felony stealing, a class D felony.
A class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and a class E felony carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.
The two were being held in the St. Louis County Jail as of Aug. 26 on $40,000 cash-only bonds, court documents show.
The two were arrested Aug. 22 following a chase that began in Eureka and ended in north St. Louis County. Eureka Police were called at about 8:50 p.m. to Walmart, 131 Eureka Towne Center Drive, because the men allegedly were stealing a TV, hoverboard and other items. The men were seen leaving the store’s parking lot in a white Ford pickup, Eureka Police reported.
An officer saw the Ford turn onto the driveway that leads to Most Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 350 E. Fourth St., which is near the ramp that leads to eastbound I-44. Officers attempted to block the pickup in the church parking lot, but Maxwell allegedly accelerated and struck the passenger side of one of the cruisers, causing damage to the passenger-side door, quarter panel and front bumper, the report said.
The officer who was in that cruiser suffered minor injuries to his hands and wrist, but he did not require medical attention and his cruiser was still operable. Eureka Police, including the officer in the struck vehicle, pursued the pickup as it got onto eastbound I-44, according to the report.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and St. Louis County Police joined the pursuit on I-44. As the chase got close to Laclede Station Road, a hoverboard flew out of the pickup bed after the truck hit a traffic barrier wedged under the damaged Eureka Police cruiser, which had to end its pursuit, according to the report.
A Eureka Police officer and other officers continued to chase the pickup into St. Louis and onto eastbound I-70, and St. Louis Metropolitan Police also joined the pursuit. After entering north St. Louis County, the pickup got off the interstate at Riverview Boulevard, went back around to Jennings Station Road and Goodfellow Boulevard then onto Natural Bridge and Lucas and Hunt roads. The chase ended when the pickup hit a parked car in the Northwoods subdivision at the intersection of Winchester and Crestland drives, Eureka Police reported.
The men were arrested, Eureka Police Lt. Michael Werges said.