Stolen car used in smash-and-grab theft at gun store

By David Amelotti

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    WRIGHT CITY, Missouri (KMOV) — Bold and brazen thieves were caught smashing a car into an area gun store. Their tactics gave them time, space, and opportunity to swipe weapons from the Osage County Gun Store in Wright City.

The crime happened in the middle of the night Saturday, something that leaves neighbor Don Puckett uneasy.

“I think it’s horrible,” Puckett explained. “It’s terrible.”

New surveillance video News 4 obtained is giving police a better understanding of how many suspects they’re looking for.

The video reveals three cars pulled up to the storefront Saturday morning. One of the cars pulls up to the front door, wedges itself between two blockade posts, and then accelerates through the store’s front door at 1:47 AM.

A crowd of as many as eight people runs inside – a motion that sets off an alert on General Manager John Dawson’s smartphone.

“As soon as I got an alert, my cell phone started blaring. I saw motion sensors going off. At that moment I knew something was severely wrong,” Dawson said.

A camera from inside the store shows a group fanning out, breaking into cases. 90 seconds later, a driver outside starts honking their horn and everyone inside runs back to their vehicles.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Dawson shared. “There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that go into this.”

Dawson told News 4 police said this is tied to a trend in the area. We’re told police missed the suspects by less than a minute.

“Either they got lucky or have been through this before and know how much time they had,” Dawson explained. “They were able to get in and out.”

Police said the Hyundai Sonata used to break into the store, was stolen a few hours prior.

Police did not comment on if this crime is connected to the investigation from last week of suspects stealing guns from an Academy Sports store in St. Peters. Those criminals also drove a stolen Hyundai to break in. Those thieves are accused of pulling off a similar crime in O’Fallon, Illinois the same morning.

As for Puckett, he said the break-in smells like desperation and wants to see someone with information come forward.

“If that keeps going, people coming from wherever, destroying our neighborhood, people are going to get scared,” Puckett said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Wright City Police Department at 636-745-3541.

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