A person accused of carjacking two vehicles and attempting to steal a third was taken into custody near N. Broadway and I-70 in St. Louis on Sunday after officers deployed spike strips to end the chase. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says the ordeal began when the suspect stole a box truck, tried and failed to hijack a second vehicle, then succeeded in carjacking a Honda CR-V before officers caught up with them.
According to a statement posted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the suspect first carjacked the box truck near N. Broadway and I-70, then attempted an unsuccessful carjacking of another vehicle before ultimately stealing the Honda CR-V. As First Alert 4 reports, police tracked the suspect to N. Grand and Natural Bridge, where officers first attempted to stop the vehicle before pursuing it back toward the interstate.
How Police Tracked the Stolen Honda CR-V
Officers eventually deployed spike strips to bring the pursuit to an end near N. Broadway and I-70, taking the suspect into custody at that location. The department said the investigation remains ongoing, and no additional details about the suspect's identity or formal charges have been released.
The tracking effort likely leaned on the department's Real-Time Crime Center, which has operated around the clock since it was established in May 2015. Per Atlas of Surveillance, the center integrates more than 600 surveillance cameras, roughly 200 automated license plate readers, and computer-aided dispatching to monitor fleeing vehicles across the city — the kind of infrastructure that would have helped dispatchers pinpoint the stolen Honda CR-V at N. Grand and Natural Bridge.
What Charges the Suspect Could Face
Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 570.027, enacted in 2020, vehicle hijacking is classified as a Class B felony carrying up to 15 years in prison, according to the Revisor of Missouri. That charge escalates to a Class A felony carrying up to life imprisonment if the offender used a deadly weapon or caused physical injury during the crime. No charges had been publicly filed as of Sunday's arrest.
Police pursuit protocols in the St. Louis area permit officers to initiate vehicular pursuits and deploy tire-deflation spike strips when a suspect is reasonably believed to have committed a dangerous felony such as robbery or vehicle hijacking, provided officers continually assess risks to public safety, per the City of Manchester Department of Police. That framework appears to explain why officers were authorized to end Sunday's chase with spike strips rather than continuing pursuit through city streets.
A Mixed Picture on St. Louis Crime Trends
Sunday's incident comes amid a broader decline in vehicle crime across the city. CompStat data released by SLMPD in January showed citywide crime dropped 16% in 2025 compared to 2024, with auto thefts, robberies, and violent crime categories all recording notable year-over-year decreases, according to KSDK. Earlier city data had shown auto thefts plummeting 39% and robberies falling 20% in the first quarter of 2025 alone compared to the same period in 2024.
A Council on Criminal Justice study published in October found that reported motor vehicle theft rates in St. Louis during the first half of 2025 were 7% lower than 2019 pre-pandemic levels, outperforming most major U.S. cities that remained above their 2019 baselines. Still, an analysis by the Show-Me Institute in March noted that while homicides and carjackings in St. Louis have dropped from pandemic peaks, motor vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults remain elevated, keeping community public safety concerns high even as overall numbers improve.
Part of a Pattern of Local Carjackings
Sunday's arrest follows a string of similar cases across the region this year. Earlier this month, an 18-year-old was charged with vehicle hijacking and armed robbery after an armed carjacking at gunpoint in the city's Soulard neighborhood. In late August, a multi-day carjacking spree in St. Louis ended with 12 felony charges against two men, while a June 2025 federal indictment charged seven members of a gang known as “The Strikers” with racketeering and carjacking for running a multi-state car theft ring centered in the city.
SLMPD has not released the identity of Sunday's suspect, and it remains unclear whether any weapons were recovered or whether anyone was injured during the string of carjackings. The department said the investigation is ongoing.
