Clayton Police Incident Report: Feb. 22-28

From the City of Clayton:

March 1, 2021

For the reporting period of Monday, February 22nd - Sunday, February 28th, CPD officers responded to 545 calls for service, including 12 automobile accidents & 34 calls to assist the CFD. Among those calls were the following incidents:

CPD Officers responded to the 6300 block of Ellenwood early Monday morning after a surveillance system alerted a resident someone was tampering with his vehicle. Two subjects, a male & a female, were apprehended nearby. While speaking with the female, she revealed she was in possession of drug paraphernalia & suspected heroin, resulting in her arrest. Although the investigation continues, the man is suspected of thefts from unlocked vehicles in the area.

A resident contacted the CPD later Monday to report a stranger was harassing her. The stranger, a man, 1st arrived at her building Friday afternoon & called her through the building's call box. When she insisted she did not know him, he became persistent in attempting to reach her. She reported he began sending messages to her via her neighbors & yelled at her over the phone. The CPD is familiar with the man & officers are attempting to locate him.

A CPD officer was on patrol in the Hi-Pointe DeMun area in the early morning hours Tuesday when he observed a man standing near a home's front door. When the man noticed the officer, he quickly dropped an object he had been holding & took off on foot, trying to evade the officer. Officers located him nearby & while detained, the man admitted to removing the discarded item from an unlocked vehicle. The object was seized & for safekeeping pending identification of the owner. The man was arrested for possession of stolen property & given a court date through the Clayton Municipal court.

Later Tuesday morning, a resident of the 700 block of DeMun reported two men stole the catalytic converter from their Toyota Prius. The same men attempted to steal the catalytic converter from a 2nd Toyota Prius parked in the 6400 block of San Bonita. Witnesses observed the men flee the area in a light-colored sedan, believed to be a Nissan Altima. The same subjects may be responsible for additional thefts from the neighborhood in recent weeks. The suspects may have left useful evidence at the scene. We ask residents & businesses to review their surveillance systems for any video footage of these individuals & the vehicle.

These suspects are believed to be armed. Please do not put yourself or others in harm's way by confronting them. Instead, if you observe anyone looking under vehicles, checking car handles, or walking into driveways & backyards, please dial 911. When you call, be prepared to describe the suspect(s), any vehicles involved & their direction of travel.

At approximately 11 pm Tuesday, a Concordia Seminary employee returned to his vehicle parked on the Seminary lot. The car made a loud, unusual noise when started but he could not identify the source of the noise & he drove away. He later learned his catalytic converter was stolen. A campus security video review revealed an unknown, unlicensed, red 4 door sedan drove through the parking lot, past the employee's vehicle & out of the camera frame. In the video, the employee's car appeared to rise from the ground & drop back down a minute later with the muffler hanging down on the pavement. Due to the angle of the camera, no suspect description is available. The investigation is ongoing.

Wednesday afternoon, a woman reported her identity information was compromised when she fell for an online employment scam. She explained she applied for a job online & had conducted what she believed were legitimate interviews & submitted pre-employment documents. She became suspicious of the company's validity when her point of contact instructed her to collect a check from a local delivery service & deposit it into her account. She responded to a local bank who confirmed the check was fraudulent.

Another resident was defrauded after falling victim to a phone scam Wednesday afternoon. He answered a phone call from an unknown number & spoke with someone who claimed to represent the Social Security Administration. Following the caller's instructions, the man purchased several thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards & forwarded photos of the cards to the caller. He later realized the call had been a scam & he reported the crime to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) for further investigation.

Surveillance cameras captured three subjects checking the door handles of vehicles in the Claverach Park & Moorlands neighborhoods early Thursday morning. A neighboring agency believes the subjects stole a vehicle from their jurisdiction later the same morning.

In mid-January, we reported a vehicle was stolen from the 8400 block of Maryland Ave. The vehicle was found damaged & abandoned in a parking garage in the 1000 block of S. Brentwood Blvd. Thursday evening. The investigation continues.

Friday night, a resident reported a former employee embezzled thousands of dollars from her business account. She'd hired the man late last year as an IT subcontractor & communication & payroll coordinator. When she noticed discrepancies with the business accounts, she confronted the man & he subsequently quit. She later learned the man had used a fake email address to reroute invoices directly to him instead of the legitimate accounts.

CPD Officers responded to the intersection of S. Hanley & Clayton Rd. late Sunday night, for a report of a vehicle crash. While speaking with the drivers, officers suspected one of the women was under the influence of alcohol. Additional on-scene investigation resulted in the woman's arrest for DWI & Possession of Marijuana. At the time of her arrest, her blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

Finally, a CPD Officer was on patrol in the area of S. Hanley Rd. & Forsyth Blvd., Sunday night when he discovered an abandoned vehicle crashed into an electric signal. Discarded in the unoccupied vehicle were a cellular phone & a wallet containing a MO driver's license. Officers responded to the ID address & spoke with a woman who confirmed she was responsible for the vehicle crash. Rather than reporting the incident, she elected to abandon the vehicle & return home. She was arrested for destruction of property & leaving the scene of an accident. She was released on the scene with summonses through the Clayton Municipal court.

Until next week, stay safe!

This press release was produced by the City of Clayton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.