IMPERIAL, Mo. – Angela Mennemeyer’s 2004 Chevy Avalanche was one of several vehicles stolen around the second week of December in Imperial.
Mennemeyer’s vehicle was stolen from her driveway around 3:00 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and the entire act was caught on camera. She said she got a call Monday morning that her vehicle had been recovered from Dewey Avenue in south St. Louis.
“Not all stories have a bad ending,” Mennemeyer said. “They recovered it and it’s in one piece and (the police detective) actually said it’s in a lot better shape than most of the vehicles they see recovered.”
Mennemeyer said when she was reunited with her vehicle, it was filled with items that didn’t belong to her including clothes, latex gloves, tools, and knives, to name a few. The tailgate had her company’s name and phone number on it, but the suspect spray-painted over it. The empty black spray paint can was also found in the car.
“They look like they tried to peel off the ProDeck sign so they just spray painted over it. Then they left all their belongings in it,” she said. “It looks like they tried to take thee speakers and stuff out of it, so they did that, but there’s still personal belongings in here, none of it is mine.”
She also found drugs and Naloxone inside, along with an ATM receipt.
When the vehicle was stolen, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Grant Bissell said Jefferson County has had a “big problem with people coming from St. Louis City/St. Louis County, down to Jefferson County, we know that it’s very typical that they will steal a vehicle in one location and use that to commit these other crimes because that stolen vehicle isn’t tied to a suspect.”
