ST. LOUIS – Five men and two women have been charged with tampering or stealing wiring in neighborhoods devastated by the May 16 St. Louis tornado.

According to probable cause statements from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the crimes took place in three different neighborhoods:

  • May 22: 4400 block of Natural Bridge Avenue (Penrose)
  • May 23: 1300 block of North Euclid Avenue (Fountain Park)
  • May 23: 5100 Kensington Avenue (Academy/Sherman Park)

In the first incident, police responded to a reported theft near Natural Bridge and San Francisco avenues. Officers arrived to find Drevon Rawson, 23; Robert Maynard, 48; and Brandy Markwick, 41, placing large amounts of wire in the back of their truck.

Maynard allegedly told police that the security guard for Save A Lot knew the suspects and allowed them to be on the lot. The security guard told police she saw the trio and told them they were not allowed to be on the parking lot and that they needed to leave. The trio was then taken into custody.

In the second theft, police were sent to an alleyway near N. Euclid and found Nicholas Allen, 37, and Daniel Garber, 38, attempting to load wire onto the bed of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The wire belonged to Ameren and AT&T. Police said the wires were still attached to an Ameren utility pole.

Both Allen and Garber were on probation/parole, and Garber had active arrest warrants in Jefferson County and Sunset Hills, Missouri.

Lastly, police received a call of two people cutting wire from a transported in an alley behind Kensington Avenue. Police said they discovered Ashley J. Kirkover, 29, and Michael Thorton, 44, had placed the transporter on the floor of their van. The pair admitted they’d cut the transporter down in order to scrap it.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Markwick, Maynard, and Rawson with stealing – $750 or more and first-degree trespassing. All three are jailed without bond. Maynard and Rawson made their initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

Allen and Garber were each charged with two counts of first-degree tampering with service of a utility or institution and two counts of stealing – $750 or more. They’re being held without bond. Both suspects made their first court appearances on Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutors charged Kirkover and Thornton, both residents of Granite City, Illinois, with one count of first-degree tampering with service of a utility or institution. They’ve been jailed without bond and appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.