Man to face trial for January 2023 business burglaries

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man is accused of using a stolen car and working with others to commit three business burglaries in January 2023.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the burglaries took place in the early hours of January 5.

Police claim Andre J. King III, 18, and three others broke into the Midwest Petroleum in the 2100 block of Chouteau Avenue just before 4 a.m. and stole various items.

Around 4:40 a.m., King and the others broke into Evangeline’s and Cocina Latina in the 500 block of North Euclid Avenue and ransacked both businesses.

Police claim surveillance video at each location ties the four suspects to the crimes. They were also seen driving a silver Hyundai Sonata.

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About 15 minutes after the last two burglaries, officers spotted the Sonata near the intersection of St. Louis Avenue and Kingshighway Boulevard and attempted to make a traffic stop. The Sonata fled but was eventually abandoned in the 3900 block of Sherman Place.

Police arrested King in the 3900 block of Kossuth Avenue. Investigators claim to have recovered three firearms near the scene and found stolen merchandise inside the Sonata, which itself had been reported stolen prior to the burglaries.

Police and prosecutors claim an Instagram Live video posted hours before the burglaries shows King driving the stolen Sonata with the other suspects in the vehicle. The suspects can be seen brandishing firearms that were identical to those recovered at the scene of the arrest.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged King with three counts of first-degree burglary, three counts of armed criminal action, first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, second-degree tampering with motor vehicle, and resisting arrest.

King was released on bond on April 25. He’s due back in court on May 20.

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