ST. LOUIS – A casual conversation on a MetroLink train led police to identify and eventually arrest a suspected carjacker.

The suspect, Javonte Alfred, 20, appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon for a pre-trial assessment. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Alfred with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of stealing a motor vehicle.

The carjacking took place on Saturday, Jan. 4, in the 4900 block of Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the victims told investigators they had just left the Chase Park Plaza Cinemas when two young men in track suits approached and asked what was playing at the theater.

Following the conversation, the two men in track suits followed the victims to their car, a Kia Soul. A man in a red track suit took out a gun and demanded the victims’ cell phones and the keys to the vehicle. The other man, wearing a green and yellow track suit, took one of the victim’s purses.

The carjackers got into the Kia Soul and drove off. The victims were physically unharmed.

Investigators reviewed footage from Real Time Crime Center cameras and corroborated the victims’ account. They then used the footage to track the carjackers before, during, and after the robbery.

The RTCC footage showed the men eventually get on a MetroLink train, police said.

Authorities obtained surveillance video from that particular MetroLink train, which had audio. The man in the yellow and green track suit talked about how he’d been in jail from Dec. 4 to Dec. 24, 2024. He also mentioned his birthday – the month, day, and year.

Using that information, investigators searched their archives for mugshots of individuals with that particular birthday and found a record for Javonte Alfred, whose mugshot matched the physical characteristics of the man in the surveillance video.

A St. Louis officer interviewed Alfred on Jan. 17 after he was arrested by Florissant police. Alfred admitted to participating in the carjacking, police said.

Alfred was ordered held without bond until his next court appearance on Jan. 28.