ST. LOUIS — It only took six minutes. Carl Mazzuca said his SUV was stolen from outside a job site Tuesday morning.
Mazzuca, who does construction work, said he parked in front of a home on Columbia Avenue on The Hill to do tile work.
“Grabbed a handful of tools out of my Jeep and dropped my keys, so I just kind of kicked them and ran inside. I put the tools down at 8:08 and walked back outside at 8:14 and my car was gone,” Mazzuca said.
"I mean, that quick somebody jumped in it and took off, like five or six minutes and I didn't notice anybody walking the streets as we were getting to the house or anything like that," he said.
Mazzuca posted a photo of his 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee shortly after the theft, hoping someone would spot it. He said he called St. Louis Police and filed a report.
“Stolen from the hill 20 min ago,” Mazzuca wrote on Facebook. “Please keep an eye out. Very distinctive stickers on the back window one is a marine Bulldog one says r-i-p-p-z there's also a 'Thin Blue Line' sticker on the back window.”
Mazzuca's Jeep contained everything he needs to run his business, C&S remodeling.
Mazzuca said he blames some of the crime problems on what he calls a poor relationship between Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office and the police officers.
"If they know they're not going to get in trouble, do you think they're going to stop?" Mazzuca said. "No, they're going to keep going. If you rob a bank and they slap you on the hand and let you go, you're going to go back out and rob a bank again. These criminals don't care and know that police officers can't do nothing."
5 On Your Side reached out to Kim Gardner's office. A spokesperson said the Circuit Attorney will prosecute any case where there is enough evidence.
