A man is being held in Cuba following a three-county crime spree that included four Pacific burglaries and two vehicles stolen in Pacific.
Pacific Detective Cody Robertson followed the case, tracking down vehicles stolen from Fowler Auto Sales, 304 West Osage.
The detained man is a Marine who was slated to receive a medical discharge and was being held at Fort Leonard Wood pending his discharge, according to the police. He allegedly stole a vehicle on the base and drove to Rolla, police said.
“That vehicle was ditched in Rolla and another stolen that was driven to Pacific,” Robertson said.
Pacific police first became aware of the suspect when a Pacific officer on a routine patrol through Blackburn Park early Sunday, July 15, saw the unattended vehicle and called it in.
“The VIN number came back as stolen in Rolla,” Robertson said.
The crime spree in Pacific started some time later and included four burglaries on Osage and the vehicle thefts.
Windows were broken and the thief entered Pacific Feed & Supply, 554 East Osage, where a large amount of change was taken.
Ralph’s Hair, 414 East Osage, was broken into but nothing was taken.
At 3 a.m. Sunday, July 15, the alarm went off at Cash Advance Loans on East Osage. The large plate glass window was broken but nothing was found to be missing.
St. Louis County Police officers later found one stolen vehicle smashed into a soda machine in front of a business.
Later Monday, July 16, Cuba police found the second vehicle stolen from Pacific on the MFA lot on the outer road in Cuba. Items in the vehicle tied it to another victim in the Phelps County area.
Cuba police told Robertson they had a person in custody. They said after ditching the vehicle stolen in Pacific, the suspect walked two blocks and stole another vehicle.
An item left in the vehicle led police to identify the suspect, Robertson said.
It is believed the suspect acted alone. His name is being withheld pending the filing of charges. Pacific Police are waiting until the suspect is charged in Phelps County before asking the Franklin County prosecutor to charge him, Det. Robertson said.
“We recovered both vehicles that were stolen in Pacific,” Robertson said.
