Two Charged in Burglaries Targeting a Church

Two St. Charles County men were charged with burglarizing a Weldon Spring church May 3 and May 16.

Jeremy Humphries, 27, of the 100 block of Park Charles Boulevard South just south of , was charged with two counts each of second-degree burglary and stealing. Larry E. Jones, 42, also of the 100 block of Park Charles Boulevard South, was charged with one count of second-degree burglary and stealing.

According to a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department report, Humphries and Jones broke into a maintenance shed at New Life Covenant Church at 300 Siedentop Road May 16 by breaking a window on a door. First, Humphries tried kicking in the door, leaving a shoe print, detectives said in the report. They also found a hair on the shattered glass.

Detectives said the two took a commercial grade riding lawn mower, valued at $10,000, a flatbed trailer and a five-gallon gasoline can. They attached the trailer to Humphries’ Ford F-150 pickup, loaded the mower on the trailer and drove off.

They discovered the trailer lights were not working and ditched the trailer at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Chesterfield. They loaded the mower in the back of the pickup.

The report states they sold the lawn mower in Sparta, Ill. for $240. A Sparta police officer recalled seeing Humphries’ pickup loaded with a lawn mower.

Detectives also said the two also broke into the church’s maintenance shed overnight on May 3. After Humphries tried to pry open an entryway, Jones discovered the garage door was unlocked.

According to the report, Humphries took a backpack leaf blower, a gas generator, five filled gasoline cans, a toolbox, tools and hardware. Humphries pawned the leaf blower for $80 at a St. Louis County pawn shop on May 4 and pawned the generator for $175 on May 8, detectives said in the report.

The report states that Humphries and Jones were suspects because they previously confessed to burglarizing a church and stealing a riding lawn mower. When detectives arrived to question Humphries, they saw five gasoline cans in the back of his pickup. They also said his shoe matched the footprint left on the door.

Detectives said in the report that Humphries said he steals to support his drug habit, support his family and pay his court fines.