Three St. Louis teens charged in break-in at southwestern Illinois car dealership
Thanks to a worker cleaning at the business after hours, three juveniles from St. Louis have been charged with breaking in to a southwestern Illinois car dealership earlier this month, according to authorities.
Three people - two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old - were charged as juveniles with burglary, vehicle theft conspiracy, and criminal damage to property, according to Matt Jany, director of the Metro-East Auto Theft Task Force. Jany is a captain in the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department.
The cleaning worker heard breaking glass and saw five people wearing masks enter the building at George Weber Chevrolet at 701 Old State Route 3 in Columbia on July 18, Jany said. Columbia Police responded to the worker’s 911 call at 3:49 a.m.
Jany said police quickly arrived at the building. He said two suspects fled in a car stolen from a dealership in Ellisville, Mo., and headed north, while three others fled on foot.
Police used stop sticks to try to stop the car in the Sauget area, but were not able to, Jany said. “The vehicle crossed into Missouri on the Poplar Street Bridge and the pursuit was terminated,” Jany said. The car was later recovered in St. Louis.
Police captured the three suspects who fled on foot. The juveniles were all charged in Monroe County.
“Thanks to the worker being on scene and calling 911 immediately, there was no delay in the Columbia police being notified,” Jany said.
Jany said officers from the Columbia Police Department and Metro-East Auto Theft Task Force worked on the case.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
