ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO (KTVI) – Whoever is smashing through the front doors of businesses in the St. Charles area is leaving behind a lot of broken glass and angry managers.
Four have been hit by a smash-and-grab burglar in a period of 17 days, starting on October 11.
“It’s just crazy,” said Tim Kummer, manager of the Country Club Car Wash on Ford Lane, one of the businesses hit. “He got five packs of Newports and a 30-pack of Bud Light.”
Kummer said the damage done to the door was far more expensive than the loss of the stolen items.
Along with the car wash burglary on October 22, the Smoothie King on Fifth Street in St. Charles was hit by the burglar October 27.
“It is aggravating when you come in expecting everybody would be going to work and we’d be selling smoothies and we couldn’t do anything until about noon,” said owner Robert Dodd.
The suspect tried breaking into the Smoothie King’s registers but got no cash because the drawers had been emptied for the night. That same night, the suspect tried his luck at the Dirt Cheap store on West Clay in unincorporated St. Charles County.
He tried breaking into two cash registers, not knowing all the money was in the safe. He settled for four cartons of cigarettes instead.
“It seems like he is looking for alcohol, cigarettes and cash, so he is in and out very quickly,” said St. Charles Police Capt. Don Thurman.
When police departments in the area began to compare notes, they found O’Fallon had a similar break in at J & D Tire and Auto on October 11. According to police, some type of rock was used to gain entry. Only vehicle batteries were stolen.
After comparing all the pictures and video from the targeted locations, police have come up with the following description: an African-American man, driving a silver or light blue colored full-sized sedan – either a Crown Victoria or a Mercury Grand Marquis.
