For the reporting period of Monday, August 4th – Sunday, August 10th, your CPD officers responded to 519 calls for service. Those calls included 20 vehicle crashes and 47 calls to assist other agencies. Among those calls were the following incidents:

Early Monday morning, CPD Officers were conducting a traffic investigation when one of them noticed two vehicles travelling eastbound on Polo Dr. toward S. Hanley. Several factors drew the Officer's attention to the cars, including the early hour and the fact that one of them did not have its headlights or taillights illuminated. As the car drove past, the Officer noticed the occupants, two males, were wearing hooded sweatshirts and had their hoods pulled up.

The Officer followed and attempted to stop the car in the central business district. The driver failed to stop and violated multiple traffic signals before driving away, heading northbound on I-170. The vehicle was entered as wanted for Felony Fleeing. Officers later learned the car had been reported as stolen from a home in St. Charles and was found abandoned in St. Peters. The investigation is ongoing.

A hotel guest contacted Officers Monday evening to report their vehicle had been damaged in the Hampton Inn garage. They explained they had parked their vehicle at approximately 5:30 p.m. and, upon returning an hour later, found fresh damage on the car's rear passenger side quarter panel. No suspects or witnesses have been identified. The investigation continues.

A short time later, a man reported a vehicle had left the scene of a crash on I-170. He explained he had been driving in the southbound lanes before the S. Brentwood exit when a white KIA passenger vehicle with heavy window tint struck his vehicle while merging into his lane. The force of the collision pushed him into the concrete median, further damaging his vehicle. The other driver did not attempt to stop or exchange any information. The KIA was last seen continuing southbound on I-170. An investigation is ongoing.

Just after 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, Officers responded to the 7500 block of Westmoreland Ave., where they discovered that three vehicles had been damaged by a fire, believed to have been intentionally set. Additionally, officers located antisemitic graffiti written in the roadway. No injuries were reported. This incident is currently being investigated as a hate crime.

We believe the victim in this incident, a Clayton resident, was specifically targeted. There are no indications of any further threat to the community. The FBI and the St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit have been requested to assist with the investigation.

If you live or work in the neighborhood or surrounding area and have a surveillance system, including doorbell cameras, dashcams, or private security systems, we urge you to share anything that may be helpful. Specifically, we are looking for any video footage or still images between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on August 5th. Your surveillance system may be the key to identifying the individual(s) responsible for this disturbing and targeted attack.

How to Submit Information:

• Clayton Police Department Detective Bureau: (314) 290-8414

• St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers (anonymous tips):

o Via the P3 Tips App o Call (314) 725-8477 or 1-866-371-TIPS (8477)

o Visit www.stlrcs.org

All calls to CrimeStoppers are completely anonymous. If your tip, emailed or called directly into the CrimeStoppers Tip Hotline, leads to the arrest of the subject(s) wanted for this crime, you may be eligible for a reward.

The Clayton Police Department is committed to the safety of our community. We take this crime seriously and are pursuing every available lead to hold the perpetrator(s) accountable. Further updates will be shared as new information becomes available.

Later Tuesday morning, a woman reported someone had damaged her vehicle by "slashing" her tire. She explained she had parked her car at the Center of Clayton early that morning. When she returned to the parking lot at approximately 10:15 a.m., she noticed that her tire was flat and, upon further inspection, found that it had been cut. Additionally, she shared that someone had "keyed" her vehicle a week earlier, but she was unsure whether the damage took place while she was at home or work. No suspects or witnesses have been identified. The investigation continues.

Officers were called to the 200 block of S. Brentwood Tuesday evening for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. A rideshare driver explained he had responded to the location to pick up a passenger. When the woman approached, she opened the rear passenger side door and asked the driver to move the front seat forward to give her more space. The driver explained that he had bent to adjust the seat and, in doing so, let his foot off the brake pedal, causing his vehicle to roll forward and run over the woman's foot. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Library staff contacted the CPD Wednesday morning to report a disturbance in progress. Upon their arrival, Officers found a woman yelling profanities and refusing to leave the building. Officers escorted her from the building and, at the request of library staff, presented her with a letter explaining she had been temporarily banned from the library. The woman remained uncooperative and threw the letter to the ground before she attempted to walk away. Ultimately, the woman was arrested for Littering and Failure to Comply. She has an upcoming court date through the Clayton Municipal Court.

Wednesday Night, Officers responded to the 200 block of S. Central for a report of a driver leaving the scene of an accident. Witnesses stated the man had struck a parked vehicle as he was parallel parking and walked away without attempting to contact the owner of the other car. Officers found the man inside a nearby bar and arrested him. He has an upcoming court date through the Clayton Municipal Court.

A traffic stop on the east end of town later that night resulted in the arrest of the driver when the Officer learned the man had active warrants through the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Maryland Heights Police Department, both for Domestic Assault 4th Degree. He was later transported to the St. Louis County Justice Center to await further action by those departments.

While conducting a traffic stop near Big Bend and Clayton Rd. early Thursday morning, the Officer learned that the Franklin County Sheriff's Office wanted the driver for Driving While Revoked. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, Officers found two plastic bags containing multi-colored pills and an unknown powder believed to be a controlled substance on the driver's side of the cab. On the passenger side, they found a loaded handgun concealed in a bookbag on the floorboard. The firearm's serial number was defaced and unreadable. The passenger was arrested for Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Possession of a Defaced Firearm. All items will be forwarded to the St. Louis County Crime Lab for analysis. Pending lab results, the case will be presented to the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges for Possession of a Controlled Substance for both the driver and the passenger.

Later that morning, Officers responded to the central business district for a report of a vehicle leaving the scene of an accident. The reporting party explained he had been backing out of his parking space when the driver to his right also began backing out of her space. He explained he stopped to allow the other driver to leave. However, as the woman exited her space, her vehicle struck the reporting party's car. According to him, the woman exited her vehicle, told him it "wasn't her fault," and drove away without providing any contact or insurance information. The investigation continues.

Thursday afternoon, Officers responded to City Coffee and Creperie for a theft investigation. The victim explained that, after her meal, she walked to her car but realized she had left her purse behind. She returned to the restaurant to retrieve her belongings, only to discover that the purse was no longer at her table. The staff did not know who had taken it. The investigation is ongoing.

Officers responded to the Davis Place neighborhood late Thursday night for a vehicle crash. A resident stated he had been inside his home when he heard a loud noise outside. When he exited his home to investigate, he discovered a vehicle had crashed into his parked car on the roadway. When he approached the car, the driver informed him she had struck his vehicle because he had been texting while driving.

While investigating the crash, Officers noted the woman was exhibiting signs of impairment. Following further investigation, they arrested the woman for Driving While Intoxicated. She has an upcoming court date through the Clayton Municipal Court.

Officers were called to the Moorlands Neighborhood for suspicious activity early Friday morning. A resident reported that the occupants of a dark colored sedan were tampering with his neighbor's vehicle. Upon their arrival, Officers found the victim's vehicle with its rear passenger side window broken out. Another neighbor reported hearing glass break. She stated she looked out the window to see a nice sedan, possibly a BMW or Lexus, driving away. When she went outside to check on her vehicle, the sedan returned, and two of its occupants went through the victim's vehicle. She described the occupants of the sedan as three young males and noted they had been wearing hooded sweatshirts. Additionally, she thought they had been holding guns in their hands, but could not describe the firearms. As they rummaged through the car, someone locked their vehicle, causing its horn to honk, startling the suspects. She last recalled seeing them running westbound and getting back into the sedan. An investigation is ongoing.

While on patrol early Saturday morning, a CPD Officer discovered several empty Amazon packages discarded in the middle of the street in the 8100 block of Kingsbury. Officers responded to the address listed on the packages and, using the Ring doorbell, confirmed the discarded items belonged to the resident. He explained he was not home, and at his request, Officers secured the items for safekeeping.

As they investigated, Officers found a window broken out of a nearby vehicle. They contacted the owner and learned nothing appeared to have been taken from the car. During a canvass of the area, Officers discovered two additional vehicles had been damaged on Stratford. Surveillance footage revealed that the passengers of an unknown white SUV caused the damage. The investigation continues.

A resident of the Forest Ridge neighborhood contacted the CPD Saturday afternoon to report a theft. She explained she was hosting a party that day and, in preparation, had left ten Yeti coolers in her yard overnight. Early Saturday morning, she discovered two of those coolers were missing. No suspects or witnesses have been identified. An investigation is ongoing.

Finally, Officers responded to Forest Park Parkway Sunday evening for a vehicle crash with injuries. A man explained he had been exiting onto Forest Park Parkway from I-170 when he lost control of his vehicle and struck the concrete median. The force of the collision caused the man to hit his chest against his steering wheel. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Anyone with information about these or other investigations is asked to contact the CPD at (314) 645 -3000. Until next week, stay safe!