ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis firefighter charged with a felony connected to a fatal crash in February has been placed on administrative leave.
Arnold S. Britt, 40, of Ballwin, is scheduled to appear July 5 in St. Louis County Circuit Court on charges of receiving stolen property, a Class D felony, and fraudulent use of a credit card, a Class A misdemeanor.
St. Louis fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said on Friday that Britt will remain on leave until the criminal case has been resolved.
The charges were issued Thursday by St. Louis County prosecutors. Conviction on a Class D felony is punishable by a sentence of one to four years in prison.
The charges against Britt stem from a crash on Feb. 26 in which four people in an SUV were killed in a hit-and-run collision at South Grand Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue.
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A survivor of the crash, Seven Robinson-Laney, 18, of St. Louis, alleged shortly after the crash that his monogrammed wallet had been stolen from the scene.
He said the wallet contained a credit card, gift cards and more than $600 in cash that he had received as birthday gifts. The wallet, cash and gift cards have not been recovered.
St. Louis police said Britt — who can be seen on a body-camera video from the scene putting the wallet into his jacket — told police he used Robinson-Laney’s debit card three times by accident.
The charges were issued by prosecutors in St. Louis County, which is where the card was used just hours after the crash at three different west St. Louis County locations.
Two weeks ago, the office of former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner refused to file stealing charges against Britt.
Gardner, who resigned on May 17, has since been replaced by Gabriel Gore.
Britt has been a city firefighter since December 2013. According to St. Louis city payroll records, Britt earned $85,664 in 2022, including overtime pay.
He also is a former star athlete at Vashon High School who went on to play for the University of Missouri football team as a wide receiver from 2002-2004.
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