Agencies join forces to arrest Belleville man after Facebook threats, police say
Residents of a neighborhood near downtown Belleville saw a big show of police force on Monday morning, when other agencies helped Swansea Police Department make an arrest.
Madison Crockett said a “parade” of unmarked trucks drove up Union Avenue about 7:45 a.m. and stopped in front of a house in the 1300 block, near Henry Raab Elementary School, while she was out walking her dog.
Crockett said about 15 officers with police vests and long guns surrounded the house, knocked on the front door, announced they were executing a search warrant, broke through the door and later busted a window before bringing out a man and woman in handcuffs and taking them away.
“I was beside myself,” said Crockett, 30. “I did not know what to think of it. It makes you think, ‘Who are your neighbors?’ You don’t know. I don’t know what that guy did. I don’t know why they took him to jail.”
Officers arrested Shane J. Wentz, 40, of Belleville, on two felony charges of criminal damage to property, according to Deputy Chief Matt Blomberg of Swansea Police Department. Wentz allegedly damaged two video-gambling machines valued at more than $500 each at Swansea convenience stores last month.
Blomberg said Swansea asked for help from the U.S. Marshals Service and St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit, a multi-agency force, in executing the warrant after reading some troubling Facebook posts by Wentz.
“He made some pretty clear threats toward law enforcement,” Blomberg said. “... Based off of those, we thought it was prudent to get some assistance and extra resources in case there was a problem when we tried to take him into custody.”
Crockett said the historic Belleville neighborhood near Henry Raab is generally quiet, but her roommate’s car was stolen about three weeks ago from the street in front of their house. The 2007 Toyota RAV4 was later found abandoned in St. Louis.
Crockett said she’s been reading posts about other car break-ins and thefts in the area on its Neighbors page and seeing groups of “kids” walking down the street checking for unlocked car doors in the past few months.
“I’m not real sure what’s been going on lately around our area,” Crockett said. “There was that drug bust on 17th Street. They raided that house. We had our car stolen. ... We need some more patrolling or something.”
On May 6, a multi-agency investigation by the St. Clair County Drug Task Force resulted in an early morning raid at a home on 17th Street in Belleville. Police arrested seven people and seized an unspecified quantity of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
That house, which is about three blocks from Union Avenue, is now featured as the “Drug House of the Month” on the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department website.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
