South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Wave of car break-ins, thefts across South County

Wave+of+car+break-ins%2C+thefts+across+South+County

Armed carjacking, wave of break-ins still under investigation; cars are left unlocked

After an armed carjacking off Tesson Ferry Road in Affton and a wave of break-ins in Sunset Hills last week, officials are urging residents to be cautious as the nights grow longer and thieves are out intent to break into or steal cars.

St. Louis County police are still searching for suspects in an armed carjacking that happened in Affton last week. The victim’s car was taken at gunpoint around 12:30 a.m. Sept. 17 in the 9800 block of Paul Revere Drive, behind the Heritage Estates apartment complex in Affton.

The wave of break-ins in Sunset Hills happened roughly between 10 p.m. Sept. 21 and 8 a.m. Sept. 22, with vehicles entered into on Woodfox, Woodpark, Maebern Terrace and Richview, all of which run off of East Watson east of South Lindbergh Boulevard. Nothing was reported taken from these vehicles.

In addition, a vehicle was entered on Kathy Court in the same area, between 1:45 a.m. and 2 a.m. Sunday.  As officers arrived, a red hatchback, no further description available, fled the area and officers.

During the same time frame, a vehicle was reported entered on Twillwood, which runs between Crestwick and Doverhill south of Gravois Road and west of South Lindbergh, but nothing was taken.  Also, a vehicle was stolen from the 500 block of Rotherwood Court, which runs off Geyer Road north of Interstate 44.  The vehicle stolen was a 2012 silver Kia Optima.  The vehicle was unlocked, and the keys were in it.

So far, all of these incidents are happening between about midnight and 5 a.m., said Sunset Hills Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Robbie Hagen, who warned, “However, with the nights getting longer, some may happen later than 5 a.m. If you leave your house early in the mornings for any reason, please, stay aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity to the police department.”

Hagen also encouraged everyone to establish a nightly routine: Leave outside lights on at night, remove all valuables from vehicles including car keys/fobs, lock vehicles even when parked in the garage and lock homes.

“If your vehicle is entered and rifled through, even if nothing is taken, please, let us know,” Hagen said. “We continue to diligently look for these offenders and will always continue to do so.”

                       

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