Clayton Weekly Police Incident Report: March 15-21

From the City of Clayton:

March 22, 2021

For the reporting period of Monday, March 15th – Sunday, March 21st, CPD officers responded to 450 calls for service. Those calls included 15 automobile accidents, 23 calls to assist the CFD & multiple phone scams. Among those calls were the following incidents:

Early Monday morning, officers responded to the area of northbound I-170 & Forest Park Parkway for a report of a single-vehicle crash. The vehicle left the roadway & struck several mile marker signs & the steel post for the guardrail. The driver sustained minor injuries & was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A resident was defrauded of nearly $1000 Monday afternoon when she fell victim to an elaborate scam. She was contacted via telephone by a subject claiming to be an employee of the St. Louis County Sheriff's office. The caller insisted she had a warrant for her arrest & instructed her to purchase "Money Packs" to cover the bond amount. The fraudster directed the victim to a specific convenience store & insisted she provided him with the serial numbers & security codes for the cash cards.

Before 5 am Tuesday, a resident in the 100 block of N. Brentwood reported a white SUV driving through the area without its headlights illuminated. A short time later, University City PD reported witnesses saw occupants of the same vehicle checking for unlocked vehicles in the area of N. Hanley & Pershing. A check of our venue revealed one vehicle had been rummaged through, though it was unclear if anything was missing.

Please help us prevent these crimes of opportunity by using your #9pmRoutine. Remove all valuables, keys, fobs & remotes from your vehicles. Lock your vehicles, home & garage & utilize your home's exterior lighting & security system.

Tuesday afternoon, a resident received a phone call from a subject posing as his grandson. The caller requested a sum of $15,000 to bail him out of jail. After withdrawing the money from his bank, the resident realized the caller was likely scamming him & he contacted his daughter, who confirmed his grandson had not been arrested.

A man placed his jacket on one of the community coatracks at the Center of Clayton before his workout Thursday morning. When he returned for his belongings, he discovered his keys, eyeglasses & a pocket knife were missing from the jacket pocket. An investigation is ongoing.

A residential surveillance camera captured a suspicious vehicle in the Hillcrest Neighborhood late Thursday night. Two residents on Arundel later discovered the catalytic converters were stolen from their Toyota Prii in the same time frame.

At approximately 4:40 am Friday, a CPD officer was on patrol in the area of DeMun & Clayton when he observed a vehicle entering a private parking lot at Concordia Seminary. Due to recent thefts of catalytic converters in the area, the officer made an investigative stop of the vehicle & discovered a sawzaw & an open package of saw blades on the floorboard. Further investigation revealed the vehicle occupants were in possession of drug paraphernalia & suspected methamphetamine. They were arrested on the drug charges & warrants through other agencies. This case will be forwarded to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney for consideration.

A Center of Clayton lifeguard reported her Apple Air Pods were stolen from her backpack Friday evening when she briefly left the bag unattended in the guard office. Multiple security cameras cover the area & an investigation is ongoing.

An early morning traffic stop in the area of S. Hanley & Clayton Saturday resulted in the driver's arrest for DWI.

Later Saturday morning, residents discovered they were defrauded of thousands of dollars during a scam spanning multiple days. Tuesday, they received a call on their home landline from an unknown subject who claimed their grandson had been in an accident out of state. To cover legal fees, they were instructed to mail a large amount of cash to an address in Florida, which they completed. A 2nd call Tuesday afternoon led them to send additional funds to cover a cash bond. Wednesday, a caller from the same number instructed the victims to wire a more significant sum to a specified account. The caller instructed the victims to avoid the bank's questions by claiming the funds were for home improvements. Saturday morning, they spoke with their grandson, who stated he had never been in an accident, nor had he been arrested.

Residents in the Clayshire Neighborhood were outdoors Saturday night when they witnessed 4 subjects checking for unlocked vehicles in the area. As they observed, the individuals found an unlocked car with the keys inside. The subjects were last seen speeding from the neighborhood in the stolen vehicle. The car's owner confirmed the vehicle had been left unlocked with the keys inside. The car was recovered Monday morning after it was abandoned in Illinois.

Finally, a vehicle we reported as stolen from the 8000 block of Maryland Ave. in January was recovered in St. Louis City Sunday. The vehicle was severely damaged & no longer drivable. The 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.