No charges filed after gun was delivered to Fairview Heights woman with Walmart order
O’Fallon police aren’t planning to file charges against a man who dropped off a loaded, stolen handgun at an apartment as part of a Belleville Walmart delivery in February.
According to Capt. David Matevey, the man had borrowed a car from a relative, not knowing that the relative’s stepfather had left the gun in the floorboard, wrapped in newsprint and placed in a Walmart shopping bag.
Apparently, the bag got mixed in with groceries ordered by the resident of the Fairview Heights apartment on Saturday, Feb. 26.
“(The man) was astonished that he had delivered a gun, especially a stolen gun,” Matevey said this week. “There was no intention on his part. He wasn’t driving his car. He had no idea the gun was in the car until after the fact.”
Police aren’t releasing the man’s name because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
The man was working for the Walmart platform Spark Driver, also known as Spark Delivery, not DoorDash, as previously reported.
The delivery was made to a woman who lives in the Autumn Pine apartment complex, which is on the border between O’Fallon and Fairview Heights, just north of St. Clair Bowl. Her mailing address is Fairview Heights, but O’Fallon police responded to the 911 call.
The woman didn’t return calls for comment last week.
“Me and my 2-year-old were carrying the groceries from the living room to the kitchen,” she said in early March. “He basically dropped the bag, and it was so loud. I’m like, ‘What the heck is that?’ So I opened it, and (found the gun). It was wrapped up in some ad paper.”
The 40-caliber Smith & Wesson with a laser sight didn’t go off, and no one was injured.
The woman gave police video from her Ring doorbell camera that showed the man delivering groceries on Feb. 26 and then returning on Feb. 28 to ask if she had found the gun.
Officers told the woman the gun had been reported stolen more than five years ago in South St. Louis County. Investigators now believe that happened before the stepfather bought it, according to Matevey. It’s not known if charges will be filed in Missouri.
“We’re holding the gun for St. Louis city to come and pick up because it looks like that’s where the whole case originated,” Matevey said.
The Autumn Pine resident regularly orders groceries from the O’Fallon Walmart store, and they’re usually delivered by DoorDash drivers. After the drop-off on Feb. 26, she got a Walmart email asking if she wanted to tip someone named Adrian. She assumed he was a “Dasher.”
The woman didn’t know that the late-evening order had been transferred to the Belleville Walmart store due to O’Fallon closing earlier.
The deliveryman was employed by Spark, a Walmart platform that partners with Delivery Drivers Inc. for screenings, background checks and recruitment of independent contractors.
Walmart representatives didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
Tyler Thomason, senior manager for Walmart corporate communications based in Arkansas, emailed the following statement to the BND last month: “We’re aware of the situation and will continue assisting law enforcement through their investigation.”
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
