East St. Louis man charged in connection with vehicle burglaries
A 47-year-old East St. Louis man burglarized multiple vehicles in the Villa Hills neighborhood of unincorporated Belleville, according to charges filed in St. Clair County on Thursday.
Charles H. Joshway Jr. was charged with three counts of burglary.
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department recently investigated a string of vehicle burglaries and thefts in four Belleville-area neighborhoods, according to St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson.
Early Tuesday morning, Villa Hills residents began reporting more burglaries, and one resident told police he confronted a suspect who then fled. Deputies blocked off a wooded area but were unable to find the suspect. Later that afternoon, residents reported the suspect was trying to break into more vehicles.
“Apparently the suspect had hid in the wooded area the entire day, and was now trying to flee the area again,” Capt. Bruce Fleshren stated in a news release.
Deputies eventually found the suspect near the intersection of Illinois 163 and Eiler Road, where he was taken into custody. No one was injured.
Fleshren reminded residents to lock their vehicles and keep their belongings safe.
“This is another great example of residents being vigilant and calling the police when they see criminal activity,” Fleshren said. “This led directly to the arrest of this suspect. While Joshway has been taken into custody, there still may be others who were involved in this spree.”
Fleshren said investigators believe Joshway was involved in “numerous burglaries and thefts,” but Joshway was only charged with the Villa Hills burglaries.
Judge Randall Kelly set Joshway’s bail at $100,000. Joshway remained in the St. Clair County Jail as of Thursday afternoon.
Police asked anyone with information regarding other burglaries or thefts call the sheriff’s department at 618-207-4374.
This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 5:20 PM with the headline "East St. Louis man charged in connection with vehicle burglaries."