Dexter PD investigates multiple vehicle break-ins, robberies

DEXTER — Dexter Police are currently investigating a rash of vehicle break-ins they believe are also tied to two different reported stolen vehicles.

Officers with the Dexter Police Department responded at 4:08 a.m. Saturday, March 23, to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 700 block of West Elk Street, according to officers. A short time later, the vehicle was recovered inside the city limits of Dexter. The vehicle was processed for evidence.

Then at 4:58 a.m., officers responded to a vehicle alarm in the 500 block of South Catalpa, where a handgun was stolen.

Following that report, at 5:16 a.m., a DPD Detective conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was in the area of the thefts. The driver was a 17-year-old from Bertrand, Missouri, and was detained. There were two male passengers in the vehicle, who allegedly exited the car and ran from the scene. Those suspects were not apprehended.

Five handguns were seized during the subsequent search of the vehicle, officers reported. Four of the recovered handguns were later identified as being stolen earlier from several vehicles located inside the city limits of Dexter.

“We believe there were approximately eight or nine vehicles that got broken into,” Detective Cory Mills explained. “We think the break-ins were done early in the morning after 12 a.m. Many of the victims didn’t know they had been robbed until later in the day; and they called us and made their reports.”

At 8:22 a.m., officers responded to the 700 block of South Park Lane to a report of a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was later recovered, unoccupied, near Bertrand.

“We believe the two individuals that fled during the traffic stop were responsible for both of the vehicles that were reported stolen,” Mills noted. “Both the vehicles were processed for evidence and the evidence was sent to the crime lab.”

The juvenile who was detained during the traffic stop is currently being held at the Stoddard County Juvenile Detention Facility.

DPD said this is an ongoing investigation, and further details will be released as they become available.