Two men have been arrested and charged for allegedly stealing copper wire in a neighborhood heavily damaged by the May 16 tornado.
According to probable cause statements from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, officers assigned to a security detail spotted the thefts in the 4600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in the Greater Ville neighborhood.
Police say Irvin Carroll, 56, and Christopher Lindsey, 46, were seen loading copper wire into shopping carts. When officers approached and asked about the source of the wire, Lindsey claimed that utility company Ameren had given it to them for free.
Both men were arrested at the scene.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office has charged them with stealing property valued at $750 or more, a felony under Missouri law. As of Tuesday, both men remain jailed without bond, and are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon.
The arrests come amid heightened police presence in tornado-impacted neighborhoods, where looting and theft of building materials have been a growing concern.
