Clayton Weekly Police Incident Report: Jan. 25-31

From the City of Clayton:

February 1, 2021

For the reporting period of Monday, January 25th - Sunday, January 31st, CPD officers responded to 369 calls for service, including 9 automobile accidents & 28 calls to assist the CFD. Among those calls were the following incidents:

Just after 4 am Tuesday, 2 men stole a cash drawer & cigarette cartons from Walgreens. Employees last saw the men leaving the area eastbound on Clayton Rd. in a small red or maroon SUV. One of the suspects has been identified & the investigation is ongoing.

A woman reported she was traveling northbound on I-170 Wednesday evening when she observed emergency vehicles working on a traffic accident ahead of her. While attempting to #MoveOver & give the emergency crews room to work, her vehicle was struck by a small, dark Toyota SUV. The striking vehicle did not stop & continued northbound on the interstate.

As he was crossing in the crosswalk at Forsyth at Big Bend Thursday evening, a man was struck by a vehicle turning onto Forsyth. The striking vehicle temporarily stopped along the roadside. However, the driver did not attempt to contact the pedestrian & was last seen driving eastbound on Forsyth. An investigation is ongoing.

A resident was defrauded of thousands of dollars Friday morning when he fell victim to a phone scam. He reportedly received a phone call from a subject who claimed to be a representative of Amazon. The fraudster informed the resident there was an issue with his Amazon account & advised he could resolve the problem by purchasing multiple Best Buy gift cards.

It was only after the man provided the gift card bar code information to the caller that he realized it was a scam. Unfortunately, this is a common scam & may take on a few different variations. Learn more about phone scams here: Fake calls from Apple and Amazon support: What you need to know | FTC Consumer Information

Later Friday morning, a resident received an email from Amazon reporting their driver had delivered 4 packages to her apartment building's shared lobby. The email included a photo that only showed 3 packages. When the resident returned home, she found the 3 packages from the photo. The 4th package was missing & she believes it was marked as delivered despite not being left behind.

Officers were contacted Friday afternoon when a resident discovered her vehicle key & her purse & its contents were missing from her apartment. She & a friend spent time at a local casino Thursday evening, where she befriended 3 subjects. When she returned home early Friday morning, she was accompanied by those subjects who followed her to her apartment. When she awoke, she discovered the subjects left a few of their items behind & her belongings were missing. Neither she nor her friend could provide any information about the identities of the subjects.

A resident reported he believes his Home Depot credit card was stolen from his wallet while working out early last month. He recalled leaving his wallet in his coat's front pocket & hanging it on a community coat rack. He did not immediately notice the card was missing & advised the December visit to the gym was the only occasion the card was left unattended. While checking his account statement Friday afternoon, he discovered multiple unauthorized charges at 2 different Home Depot locations. The card has been deactivated & the fraudulent purchases have been reported to Home Depot.

Early Saturday morning, Walgreens employees reported a man carried unknown merchandise items from the store without stopping to pay for them. He returned 4 hours later & caused a disturbance when employees confronted him. While investigating, officers discovered he was in possession of a variety of controlled substances & drug paraphernalia. He was arrested for the controlled substances & officers will present the case to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office for consideration.

When 3 teenagers left IHOP without paying for their meals Saturday afternoon, a quick-thinking employee gave CPD officers a detailed description of their vehicle. Officers were able to obtain owner information & contacted one of the teens who returned to the restaurant & paid for the meal in full. All 3 teens have been banned from returning.

Sunday afternoon, a resident was surprised to learn someone had used her personal information to obtain utility services for an out of state address. It is unclear when or how her personal information was compromised. If you believe someone is using your personal information, visit Identity Theft Recovery Steps | IdentityTheft.gov.

Finally, residents reported hearing shouting & loud noises in the alleyway behind St. Mark's Lutheran Church Sunday evening. Responding officers discovered 2 of the church's windows were damaged. No witnesses or suspects have been identified & investigation is ongoing.

Until next week, stay safe!

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