Car thief shot by son of woman he stole from, Richmond Heights police say

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - According to Sunset Hills Police, a driver’s black BMW 740 was stolen Monday around 5:00 a.m. in the 12400 block of Cinema Lane when it was left running while the owner, an Amazon driver, took a package to a porch.

Amazon drivers make deliveries as early as 4:00 a.m., but drivers use their own cars for these early deliveries.

Police said four men got out of an SUV, into the BMW, and drove away.

Richmond Heights Police Chief Gerry Rohr told News 4 that the victim’s son-in-law used the vehicle’s remote GPS tracking function to track down the vehicle on Wise Avenue.

“They came together driver’s door to driver’s door and they confronted each other while they both were sitting inside the car,” he said.

Rohr said the son-in-law shot the driver in the leg, but it wasn’t a life-threatening wound. He said the thieves drove off, but the vehicle became disabled at the intersection of Big Bend Boulevard and I-64, and the suspects ran past the police department and into a nearby neighborhood.

The chief said he doesn’t condone the son-in-law’s actions but understands his motivation since his mother-in-law needs her car to make a living. Rohr said the vehicle theft problem has gotten so bad that he wouldn’t be surprised if other victims take matters into their own hands.

“I worry about this type of incident occurring again and again and again, until this region starts to take auto crimes more seriously. And that includes a little more effort from our elected officials, prosecutors, judges and the juvenile court system,” he said.

Two adults and one juvenile were arrested, and two handguns were recovered, including an AR-15 pistol. Rohr said the son-in-law is likely to face a charge of unlawful use of a firearm.

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