Monroe County auto theft investigation results in charges against 5 from Collinsville
Five Collinsville residents are being held at the Monroe County Jail on charges of burglary and vehicle conspiracy theft in Waterloo.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s office, Robert J. Hart Jr. 37, Robert J. Hart Sr., 55, Mark Bowers 43, Jessica A. Hart, 34, and Charlene A. Hart 53, were charged Nov. 20 and are in custody at Monroe County Jail.
All are being held on $50,000 bond.
A sixth suspect, Michael A. Tucker 53, of Peoria remains at large. Anyone with knowledge as to his whereabouts are asked to call the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department crime tip hotline at 618-939-8477.
On Nov. 10, at 5:08 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 5700 block of Kaskaskia Road on the report of an auto theft. The homeowner discovered the detached garage had been burglarized with several tools and items missing along with his 2020 Ford F250 pickup truck, according to a sheriff’s department release.
Deputies were told by the homeowner that the crime must have occurred after 10 p.m on Nov. 9 and before 4 a.m. on the 10th. Deputies canvassed the area speaking with neighbors and searching for evidence.
Investigators later located the stolen truck abandoned in a basement of a vacant warehouse in St. Louis. They also recovered stolen property that had been taken from the garage.
The suspects were tracked based on descriptions of the vehicles that were used in committing the crime, the sheriff said.
This Investigation was conducted with the assistance from St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Department, Metro East Auto Theft Task Force, Belleville Police Department, Terminal Railroad Police Department, Columbia Police Department, and the Criminal Investigation Division with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department.
