The following information is from selected reports provided by the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department:
Driver arrested for DWI after crash into house
A 22-year-old man was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident and driving while intoxicated after the car he was driving crashed into a house on Becky Thatcher Drive on May 25. Witnesses told deputies that after the crash, the car's two occupants fled the scene on foot. A St. Charles police officer apprehended the driver once his description was aired. The passenger later returned to the crash scene. Neither person suffered any injuries. There was no indication of the amount of damage to the home. [Map highlight 1]
Other DWIs
A 20-year-old woman was arrested May 20 on the westbound entrance ramp to Interstate 70 at Fifth Street after she was observed operating her car in a careless manner. She was charged with careless and imprudent driving, failure to yield and driving while intoxicated.
While assisting a St. Peters police officer during the early hours of May 21 on the Harvester Road overpass, a county deputy heard squealing tires and sounds of rapid acceleration from a nearby stoplight. Turning, he saw a late-model BMW racing away from the intersection. Giving chase, the deputy caught up with the BMW at Caulks Hill Road and stopped the car on Ronald Drive. When stopped, the deputy found the car carried no license plate and had only a pink paper temporary tag issued from Michigan. The 27-year-old male driver was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
During the late evening hours of May 21, a deputy was part of a multi-jurisdictional sobriety checkpoint at Boone's Lick Road and Fifth Street in St. Charles. His assigned task was to watch for drivers attempting to elude the checkpoint. He didn't have to wait long, as a car stopped, made a U-turn while blocking traffic, then left the scene on South Benton Avenue. The 29-year-old driver was stopped at McDonough Street and cited for failure to signal and driving while intoxicated.
In the early hours of May 22, at the same checkpoint, a car was observed traveling the wrong way on Fourth Street, a one-way street. The 24-year-old female driver was arrested for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and driving while intoxicated.
A 23-year-old man was arrested a few minutes later for doing the same thing — traveling the wrong way on Fourth Street and driving while intoxicated.
A 26-year-old man was arrested for failure to maintain a single lane, excessive speed, expired plates and driving while intoxicated after being stopped May 24 on Merz Farm Road at Highway N.
A 29-year-old woman was arrested for failure to maintain a single lane and driving while intoxicated after being stopped May 24 on Highway 94, east of Point West.
Burglary
When school staff arrived for work May 20 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 632 E. Highway N in Wentzville, they found a window near the west entrance broken and interior offices ransacked. Personnel said outer doors were confirmed locked at 9:30 the night before. Besides the interior damage, staff reported that $6,460 worth of assorted gift cards, a laptop valued at $200, another laptop valued at $3,000 and $400 in assorted currency were taken. [Map highlight 2]
Minor in possession
Deputies responded to the intersection of Old Highway 94 South and Ramona Lane on May 20 to a report of a juvenile carrying a case of beer. When they arrived, they found a 19-year-old man, who dropped the case of beer he had been carrying and fled into a neighboring wooded area. After a few minutes, he was found hiding under a log and taken into custody. Deputies noted they approached the juvenile with caution after he was observed reaching into the waistband of his shorts while fleeing, possibly reaching for a weapon. He later admitted his actions were an attempt to keep his shorts from falling down to his knees. He was arrested as a minor in possession of alcohol and resisting arrest. There was no indication where the juvenile obtained the beer. [Map highlight 3]
Copper water pipe stolen from two houses
Two houses on Highway N apparently were the targets of the same burglar May 21. Deputies responded to the first house, in the 200 block, after the owner said someone entered the unoccupied home through a bedroom window and stole 60 feet of copper water pipe. Value was placed at $600. Water in the house had been turned off. As the deputy was leaving the scene, he was flagged down by a homeowner in the 100 block who said someone had entered his home through a rear basement door and stole 30 feet of copper water line between a hot-water heater and clothes washer. Value was placed at $300. Water was also shut off at this home. The report did not indicate if the home was occupied. [Map highlight 4]
ZX station burglary tied to Illinois armed robbery
The front glass door of the ZX station on Highway 67 in West Alton was smashed during the early hours of May 26. Ten cartons of cigarettes, 20 Zippo lighters, 10 knives and 100 Bic lighters were missing. Value of the items was placed at about $1,500. Damage was estimated at $800. The entire burglary was captured on surveillance cameras. While deputies were on the scene, they were visited by an Alton, Ill., police sergeant who said an armed robbery occurred an hour earlier in Wood River and the description of that suspect nearly matched the surveillance photos taken in West Alton. Wood River police confirmed both incidents were committed by the same suspect. [Map highlight 5]
Closed store doesn't deter ATM user
Deputies were called to the same ZX gas station May 28 after the burglar alarm sounded. When they arrived they found the front door open but nothing disturbed. Surveillance cameras recorded the image of a white Ford Ranger pickup pulling up to the closed store, the driver getting out and, after tugging on the door, opening it, then calmly entering the dark store and using the ATM inside. He then climbed back into the truck and left. Deputies concluded the door was improperly secured and the man simply wanted to use the ATM. [Map highlight 5]
Other burglary
The girlfriend of a homeowner in the 1300 block of Wilmer Road called her boyfriend May 23 to report the house had been "trashed." Apparently everything in the house had been overturned and the contents of all drawers dumped on the floor. Nothing was reported taken, and there were no signs of forced entry. A former girlfriend was listed as a person of interest. [Map highlight 6]
Drug possession
Stopped for a routine traffic violation May 21 in a QuikTrip parking lot at Veterans Memorial Parkway and Belleau Creek Road, the 21-year-old driver wreaked of marijuana, the deputy reported. When the driver was searched, three plastic bags filled with what was believed to be heroin were found in his pockets. The car contained hypodermic needles and a glass pipe with marijuana residue inside. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver admitted to the deputy that he had been a heroin addict for two years. [Map highlight 7]
Property damage
Sometimes crashing a party creates more drama than fun. That's what a youth discovered when he arrived uninvited May 22 at a party hosted by other youths at a home on Musket Drive near Caulks Hill Road. The youth said he was confronted by 20 unknown persons when a fight broke out. Although he attempted to drive away, the group of youths continued to pummel his car, severely damaging its exterior. Damage was estimated at $5,000. The youth's mother called deputies to make the report before filing an insurance claim.
Staff members of Incline Village Golf Club, 2000 Fairway Drive in Foristell, reported May 25 that someone drove golf carts across two greens the night before, creating damage amounting to $1,200. [Map highlight 8]
Stealing
The owner of a green 1996 Ford 150 pickup said he parked his vehicle in a driveway in the 1300 block of Lake Hollow Drive about 10 p.m. May 22. When he went to get into the truck the next morning, he discovered the catalytic converter missing.
A lineman for AT&T, answering a service call May 25 at South Lakeshore and Harbor Point drives, reported 400 feet of telephone cable had been cut from the utility poles. The removed cable contained not only copper wire but also steel supporting cable. Value of the wire was placed at $750.
