Crime Report: It’s Was a Quiet Week For Park Cities Crime

After the St. Louis County Grand Jury declined to indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who shot Michael Brown, riots erupted in the St. Louis suburb yesterday evening, leaving police officers such as this one to respond. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Last week’s police activity was fairly light, even by the Park Cities’ standards. But the incidents detailed below seem even more inconsequential because I compiled them last night, as I was monitoring the chaos erupting in Ferguson, Mo.

Jump for news on property crime in the Park Cities:

Between 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 and 6 a.m. on Nov. 19, a thief stole a green 1999 Ford Explorer from the 3400 block of Bryn Mawr Drive. The $2,000 vehicle had been parked on the street.

At 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, a man saw a burglar trying to break into his brown 1999 Ford F250 in the 4400 block of St. Johns Drive. The victim yelled at the burglar, who jumped into a blue Chevrolet Impala driven by another man that sped away.

Between 9 and 11:40 p.m. on Nov. 20, a burglar entered two white SUVs – a 2005 Ford Excursion and a 2012 Land Rover Range Rover – that had been left unlocked outside a house in the 3800 block of Gillon Avenue and stole a Snob purse and a pair of Sparco racing shoes.

Between 11 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 21, a thief stole a Garmin GPS and a Wilson phone-signal booster from a tan 2012 GMC Yukon that had been left unlocked in the 3800 block of Gillon Avenue.

Between 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 8:40 a.m. on Nov. 21, a thief stole a Macbook computer and a pair of sunglasses from a black Land Rover that had been left unlocked in a driveway in the 3900 block of Miramar Avenue. The victim told police he could easily identify the computer because he had removed its hard drive and was planning to donate it to Goodwill. The computer was found in the possession of Vernon Lawler, 57, who was arrested. Police listed him as a suspect in the previous incident on Gillon Avenue.

Between 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 21, a burglar broke into a black 2011 Chevrolet Suburban in the 3100 block of Stanford Avenue and stole the $500 third-row seat.

At 12:49 p.m. on Nov. 22, Marx Dale Billingsley was arrested in the 3500 block of Hanover Street and charged with disorderly conduct. He was also arrested on Nov. 19 in the 6300 block of Westchester Drive. For years, Billingsley, 65, has wandered the streets of University Park with a bucket and a squeegee. He knocks on doors and offers his services as a window washer before things inevitably go awry and he gets arrested. To our knowledge, no officer has ever shot him.