On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued a Criminal Summons in lieu of a warrant of arrest on 39-year-old suspect Rodney Lewis of Florissant, MO for 4 counts of Stealing Motor Vehicle.
The probable cause statement reads: Victim #1 reported that her 2004 Dodge Ram truck had been taken from her apartment complex by a tow truck. The tow truck driver told victim #1’s boyfriend that he had been instructed by the leasing office to tow the vehicle. Several days later, an employee of the Circle K, had reported that her vehicle, a 2005 Ford Explorer, had been towed from outside of the store while she was at work. She had later located the vehicle in a salvage yard and found the tow truck and driver there as well. She convinced the driver to tow the vehicle back to the Circle K, at which time victim #3 called the police. Victim #2 had, earlier the same day, reported his 1999 Oldsmobile Bravada stolen from his apartment complex on Lucas & Hunt Road, not far from the Circle K.
The tow truck driver was arrested at the Circle K. He told police that he had a towing business; although the business was registered with the Missouri Secretary of State, neither defendant nor his business had a towing license with St. Louis County. He claimed that he was working with a man named “Rich” who would identify vehicles on parking lots that were abandoned.
Defendant said that he then sold the vehicles to a salvage yard and shared the proceeds of those sales with Rich. He admitted that he had towed victim #1’s Dodge Ram truck, claiming that Rich said permission had been given by the apartment complex. He told another officer that he had towed victim #3’s vehicle from the Circle K, claiming that an employee of the business had told Rich that the vehicle needed to be towed. Defendant said he did not recall taking victim #2 vehicle from his apartment complex. Victim #4 had reported several months earlier that his 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer had been stolen from his apartment complex at Gladstone Place.
