Police: Clayton Car Break-Ins May Connect to Stolen Vehicle

UPDATED AT 10:16 A.M.: A neighbor rang the doorbell of Pam Schneider's townhouse at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday to tell her about a series of vehicle break-ins that had happened on their street.

Schneider, who lives on Kingsbury Boulevard, found that side windows on her vehicle had been smashed and that her wallet had been stolen. Six other vehicles parked on or near the road between North Bemiston and Linden avenues also got hit.

The neighbor had a window open and heard the break-ins happening at roughly 2 a.m.

"That will be the last time I park on the street," said Schneider, who had her air-conditioner running at the time and didn't hear the break-ins underway. She normally keeps her vehicle in the garage.

There's something of an upside: A Clayton police officer rang Schneider's doorbell at about 5:30 a.m. to tell her that her wallet had been recovered in a vehicle found in St. Louis City. It is being held at a precinct there.

Officer Korey Golcynski of the said the department is investigating the case. Police across St. Louis are trying to account for the quantity of vehicle break-ins in recent months and to learn what they can do to combat it.

"Obviously, it's occurring at a higher rate than we can keep up with," said Golcynski, who with tips for reducing the risk of a break-in. On Tuesday, he advised drivers to lock their doors and keep valuable items out of their vehicles.

Overnight vehicle break-ins in Clayton and University City may be connected to an abandoned vehicle found this morning, Sgt. David Jones of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said.

"The vehicle that was abandoned was actually stolen in the city," Jones said. The vehicle's owner only learned of the overnight theft after receiving a voicemail from police. The vehicle, found several blocks into St. Louis City near the Pine Lawn border, appears to have been involved in an accident sometime before it was left. Its right front fender had been damaged.

Several items thought to have been stolen in several suburban St. Louis car break-ins were found inside, Jones said. University City police said some of the items appear to be tied to four or five break-ins they are investigating. Jones said he did not know whether any break-ins happened in St. Louis City.

Suspects have not been identified, though detectives are working the case.

Schneider, the Clayton resident, was waiting for her insurance office to open Tuesday morning so that she place a call to report the break-in. She has lived in Clayton since 1992 and at her current residence since 1998.

Something has shifted, leading to an increase in this type of incident, she said. This summer, for example, she heard about more incidents like this than in the past, in Clayton and beyond.

"I can only imagine it's a sign of the times," Schneider said. "People's desperation."