Suspect, 18, charged in Swansea home invasion, armed robbery

An 18-year-old has been charged with an armed home invasion in Swansea last November.

Kevin R. Allen of St. Louis faces six felony charges in St. Clair County, including single counts of home invasion with a firearm, armed robbery, residential burglary, unlawful possession of a motor vehicle, attempted unlawful possession of a motor vehicle, and aggravated unlawful restraint.

The charges stem from a Nov. 2 incident in which a Swansea family reported that four armed men entered their home on Rand Lane, led a male victim around the home at gunpoint and stole their car.

“All suspects had firearms and demanded valuables,” police said at the time. “They attempted to steal a vehicle out of the garage but it was blocked in. “

But the 2015 Nissan Altima the suspects allegedly stole was spotted about 10 minutes later on Interstate 64 in Fairview Heights and was later recovered in Missouri.

A neighbor’s surveillance camera showed the suspect’s white pickup truck and the victim’s Nissan leaving the scene, police said. The suspects were wearing masks.

Surveillance video from a business in Florissant, Missouri captured footage of the stolen vehicle and allowed detectives to identify the suspects, Swansea police said in a release.

Allen already was being held in the Madison County Jail on a similar but unrelated charge, according to police. St. Clair County Judge Robert Haida set Allen’s bond at $200,000.

The search continues for the other suspects, police said.