Clayton Weekly Police Incident Report: Feb. 8-14

From the City of Clayton:

February 16, 2021

For the reporting period of Monday, February 8th – Sunday, February 14th, the CPD responded to 410 calls for service, including 14 vehicle accidents & 29 calls to assist the fire department. Among those calls were the following incidents:

Monday afternoon, CVS employees observed a man attempting to conceal several bottles of alcohol in his coat. When confronted by a manager, all but one of the bottles was retrieved. The man fled the store with the merchandise & witnesses reported watching him enter the Galleria property. Despite his attempts to evade officers, he was located & arrested for stealing & resisting arrest by flight. He was issued summonses for both charges & released with a court date in the Clayton Municipal Court.

While assisting a motorist on I-170 Tuesday morning, officers discovered the driver had fled the scene of an accident in another jurisdiction. The driver admitted leaving because she did not have vehicle insurance. The reporting agency was notified & will handle any charges.

A local bank reported a woman opened an account in late January & deposited 3 checks of equal value on 3 separate occasions. With each transaction, the woman asked for & received cash back. Bank personnel contacted the CPD Wednesday when they discovered the checks were written on a frozen account. Further investigation revealed the woman used a banking app to transfer additional funds to another individual. In all, the woman defrauded the bank of nearly $4,000. A suspect has been identified & the investigation continues.

Thursday morning, resident of the 8500 block of Maryland discovered change & clothing items were missing from her vehicle. She reportedly left her vehicle unlocked in the secured parking garage of her apartment building. Thursday night, a second resident reported her garage remote & cash were stolen from her car while it was parked in the garage. She believed the vehicle had been locked; however, there were no signs of damage to suggest forced entry. After reviewing surveillance footage, building employees noted a man entered the secured building overnight Wednesday & left through the garage early Thursday morning. The subject was positively identified as a man known to the CPD & surrounding agencies for similar incidents. An investigation is ongoing.

A woman dropped her vehicle off at a collision repair center after hours Wednesday & placed her keys in the overnight dropbox. When she returned Thursday, she learned her SUV was stolen overnight. Two additional vehicles were rummaged through, but nothing of value was taken.

After dining at IHOP Saturday morning, 2 women declined to pay for their bills before leaving the restaurant. Although CPD officers were in the area for a separate call for service, they were not notified of the theft until after the women left. After a preliminary investigation, a possible suspect has been identified.

Upon arriving at work Saturday, a business owner observed the door to an adjoining business was damaged. Sometime overnight, large concrete pieces were used to shatter the glass in the business' exterior door. Entry was not gained & no suspects or witnesses have been identified.

A traffic stop in the 7900 block of Clayton Rd. Saturday night resulted in the driver's arrest for leaving the scene of an accident in another jurisdiction. Our thanks to the Richmond Heights Police Department for their assistance.

Finally, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we're asking for your help in preventing vehicle thefts. We know it's frigid out & so do criminals. When you warm up your vehicle & leave it unattended, you risk having it stolen. Not all remote start systems are made the same & many vehicles can be driven away without physical possession of a key. If you can't lock your vehicle while warming it up, don't walk away from it. The only thing worse than a cold car is a stolen car!

Until next week, stay safe!

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