A Eureka Police officer was injured this morning, April 12, during a hunt for suspects allegedly connected to a string of thefts that morning in the Mirasol subdivision off Hwy. W near Hwy. 109 in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka, authorities reported.
The officer, Cpl. Brett Grittini, was treated at and released from Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur and is home with a broken ankle after being pinned against a guardrail by a Honda Pilot near the intersection of Hwy. 109 and Fourth Street around 7:15 a.m., Lt. Michael Werges said.
He said Grittini has been with the department for 10 years.
In addition, the Pilot rammed the vehicle Eureka Police School Resource Officer Derek Ploeger was driving. He was evaluated at the scene and no injuries were reported for him.
Werges said the driver of the Pilot was arrested and the passenger is still at large. He said the driver is an adult male and was arrested at 12:40 p.m. at Legend’s Parkway and Hwy. 109.
Werges said an officer drove up behind the Honda Pilot, which was stopped in congested traffic, and Grittini was approaching the passenger’s side door on foot when the driver drove away and struck Grittini. After that, the Pilot drive rammed Ploeger’s vehicle, which had moved in front of the vehicle to stop it. The collision caused Ploeger’s airbags to deploy.
Werges said Eureka Police will seek charges for felony assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Werges also said the suspect was in Eureka Police’s custody today.
Rockwood School District officials said Eureka schools and district buildings were on a soft lockdown while authorities searched for the suspect, but the lockdown was lifted at about 12:45 p.m.
During the investigation, authorities learned a pickup was stolen from the Mirasol subdivision. In addition, a car stolen in St. Louis and abandoned in the Eureka subdivision was recovered, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Andy Sides said.
Deputies were called to the subdivision at about 4 a.m. after the juveniles were seen walking through the neighborhood. When deputies arrived, the four scattered, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies found the stolen 2021 Volkswagen Jetta that had been abandoned in the 5500 block of Mirasol Manor. Authorities believe the car was used in multiple thefts in Jefferson and St. Louis counties over the last several weeks, Sides said.
Deputies found one juvenile at about 6:05 a.m. in the Mirasol subdivision, and the second juvenile was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. near a forested area between Mirasol and the Windswept Farms development, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Sides said a silver 2016 Ford F-150 was stolen from the 5400 block of Mirasol Manor Way and has not been recovered. He also said deputies located purses that belong to Mirasol subdivision residents.
The Sheriff’s Office has not released the ages of the two juveniles in custody, and Sides said as of this morning, authorities had not determined where the two juveniles are from.
This is a developing story, and the Leader will provide updates when they are available.