Crime & Safety

Weird Crime: Impersonating a Walmart Employee, a Mystery Driver and Stolen Thin Mint Money

Earned wrong badges

A Girl Scout leader in St. Charles County is accused of stealing about $1,000 in cookie money from her troop and stealing $2,000 overall from the troop.

Trisha Shelton, 29, of St. Charles County, was charged with felony theft after other leaders discovered she forged another troop leaders name on eight checks made payable to Shelton.

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While investigating the forgeries, detectives discovered Shelton never deposited $1,000 in cookie money given to her in 2011, according to a police report.

One argument the defense attorney might want to avoid: Shelton was trying to earn an Identity Theft badge.

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There’s no truth to the rumor we’re trying to start that Shelton attempted to pay her attorney fees with pirated Thin Mints.

Impersonating a Walmart employee?

A man is accused of trying to steal two swimming pools from the Lake Saint Louis Walmart.

Part of his plan seems to have been to impersonate a Walmart employee, with his backup plan being to pretend to kidnap his getaway driver.

Police said Brandon Lee Boschert, 19, of Warrenton, was wearing an orange vest in attempt to pose as a Walmart employee when he took two swimming pools, valued at $200, and walked out the door.

When a Walmart employee confronted Boschert, he took out a butterfly knife and warned the employee not to come any closer. Boschert got into a pickup truck with Zachary Hill, 17, of Wentzville, and put a bb gun to Hill’s head.

Lake Saint Louis Police said this was an attempt to make it look like Hill was being kidnapped.

Boschert was charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Hill also was charged with first-degree robbery.

In retrospect, anytime you consider impersonating a Walmart employee or kidnapping a friend, you probably should rethink your life.

“It starts with a J”

A man tried to convince officers that he wasn’t driving when his Land Rover ran over a median and overturned five times on Highway 94 in St. Charles County June 19.

However, St. Charles County Sheriff’s deputies reported that Gary Barringer called his wife after the accident, and she called 911 to report the accident. She said her husband had an accident and there were no passengers in the vehicle.

Barringer is being charged with his fifth DWI and driving with a revoked license.

Still, he told deputies the real driver ran off after the accident.

“I’m drunk. That’s why I wasn’t driving,” Barringer told officers, according to the report.

So who was driving? Apparently, Barringer isn’t sure of the person or their gender.

Deputies said he first told them someone named Jennifer was driving. He changed the story to John and then Jeff.

But we can be reasonably sure the mystery driver’s name begins with a “J.”

Jason? Jessica? Billy Joel? 

“I fought the lock and the lock won”

A man is accused of burglarizing two stores on three occasions in attempt to break into ATM machines inside the buildings.

Bridgeton Police said Travis Brantner, 24, first broke into the Smoke and Bottle Shop, a liquor store in Bridgeton, on June 7. He unsuccessfully tried to force open the lock on the ATM machine, police said.

Police said Brantner returned to the Smoke and Bottle on June 19, breaking into the closed business a second time. This time, he tried to remove the ATM from the business, and again left without the machine or gaining entry into it.

The next day, Brantner tried an ATM at a different store, according to Florissant Police. He broke into A & M Market on 147 Graham Road and again attempted to break into an ATM machine, police said.

He removed the cover from the ATM but could not break into the safe containing the cash, according to a court document.

After giving up, he grabbed some lottery tickets and left the building, according to the police report.

No word on whether Brantner won on any of stolen Scratcher tickets. 

 


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