Two Unharmed After Vehicle Theft in Richmond Heights

Two women are safe after a Wednesday incident in Richmond Heights in which a man stole the vehicle from which they had been unloading boxes, an official said.

The women had been taking the boxes out of the back of the vehicle, which was parked on Ethel Avenue, Sgt. Doug Schaeffler of the said. The vehicle's engine was still running.

They called police at about 8 a.m. when someone took off in the vehicle. The women neither saw nor spoke with the suspect, Schaeffler said. He said the women work in the area but are not Richmond Heights residents.

The man suspected of taking the vehicle is suspected of having then used the vehicle in an attempted robbery at a drive-up ATM in Warson Woods, Schaeffler said. He then is suspected of having robbed a gas station in Olivette.

Richmond Heights detectives realized the vehicle in those cases matched the one stolen earlier in the day and tracked it to a hotel in Alorton, IL, Schaeffler said. They contacted Olivette detectives and representatives from both agencies drove to the hotel, where the suspect was arrested.

"Good police work is what led to this arrest," Schaeffler said. He declined to say how Richmond Heights police determined the suspect's location. "Technologies are a great thing," he said.

Schaeffler said the suspect is facing charges in Illinois based on discoveries made after the arrest, though he declined to elaborate on what police found at the scene. He said the suspect, a St. Louis-area resident who spends a lot of time in Illinois, has a criminal record.

Officials from Richmond Heights, Warson Woods and Olivette will compile information on the case from their respective cities and turn it over to the St. Louis County prosecutor's office, Schaeffler said.