Criminal Minds: Curious Crimes That Plagued St. Louis Neighborhoods in December and January

Here’s a round-up of odd and unusual crimes reported by St. Louis law enforcement in recent weeks. 

If you are handcuffed and being detained in the cruiser of a sheriff’s deputy, it’s probably not the best idea to steal the deputy’s wallet. But that’s what one man is suspected of doing after the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department arrested him and another man Jan. 17. The two were suspected of stealing electronics and stereo equipment from vehicles on Stillbrook Estates Drive in Fenton. One of the men is suspected of having concealed the wallet in his groin. Officials made the discovery at booking.

Brentwood police received a report Jan. 27 that a bench had been stolen from the 8900 block of Bridgeport Avenue. Aren’t those hard to conceal?

A woman in Manchester reported Jan. 7 that someone broke the taillight of her car on Hanna Road and stole the bulb.

A burglar who apparently had some serious vacuuming to do cut through a screen at a home on Plymouth Avenue in University City to steal a Shop-Vac. The incident was reported Jan. 20. Police had a suspect in the cleanup caper.

It can be annoying to arrive home with a fast-food order only to discover that someone forgot to put fries in the bag with the burger. One woman in University City apparently was so ticked off about her Jack in the Box order being wrong that she is suspected of not only yelling at the drive-thru worker but also of going inside the restaurant and attacking her. That's according to a Jan. 10 report.

A resident on Baxter Acres Drive in Manchester reported two air-filled Christmas decorations in his yard were ruined after a 200-pound man tackled them on New Year’s Eve. In separate incident, a resident on Hanna Oaks Court reported Dec. 23 that she found a reindeer decoration in her yard that did not belong to her. It was taken into evidence. It is not known whether the decoration is part of the .