ST. LOUIS – A woman said she caught a man pulling license plate renewal stickers right off of her neighbor’s cars in broad daylight in south St. Louis.
Amy Krueger said she was home from work on Jan. 23 when she noticed a man walking around looking at people’s cars just after 1 p.m. She quickly realized the man was peeling license plate renewal tabs off of the front and back of her neighbor’s vehicles.
She called the police but decided to take the matter into her own hands, yelling at the man until he ran off. Krueger captured two pictures of him before he got away and fears the man may have been homeless.
“It’s sad, but it’s also such an inconvenience for everybody who has to go to the DMV every year or two to get these license plate stickers,” Krueger said. “It’s sad, but it’s still illegal.”
The tabs are very recognizable and should read 25 or 26.
FOX 2 talked to neighbors off-camera who had their stickers stolen, and they told us they understand police have more pressing issues to deal with but added that they will likely start protecting their plates and tabs with see-through plate covers to avoid any future headaches.
“Everything’s expensive,” Krueger said. “It’s not only an inconvenience; it’s a violation. And nobody wants to worry about parking in front of their house and having something like this happen.”
The Missouri Department of Revenue states on its website that Missouri drivers are eligible for up to two sets of replacement plates or tabs every year if theirs are stolen. According to the site, all you will have to pay is a $6 processing fee.
St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis each have pages dedicated to reporting stolen license plates and/or tabs. For the county, click here. For the city, click here.