JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — A Farmington man was charged after a series of crimes that spanned across two counties on Friday.
Steven Deering, 33, was charged by prosecutors in St. Louis and Jefferson County after police said he assaulted two separate women and stole their cars, then later broke into a home and threatened three children.
According to court documents, Maplewood police responded on Friday to Title Boxing Gym for a woman who was found unresponsive. She was transported to an area hospital and treated for a brain bleed and other injuries.
After being taken into custody, Deering admitted to repeatedly striking the woman at the gym "extremely hard until she lost consciousness" after she refused to go with him, court documents said. He then dragged her body to another part of the gym and stole her vehicle.
Deering told police that he knew the woman was dead by the time he left the scene, court documents said. However, the woman survived and was later able to tell police about the attack.
In their investigation, Maplewood police found the victim's car was used in another crime in Jefferson County.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said Deering assaulted an elderly woman in the 6500 block of Haven Hill Road in Barnhart and stole her vehicle. He then drove the vehicle to a home in the 6500 block of Dry Creek Road.
Court documents said Deering broke into a home and threatened to harm three children, ages 1, 3 and 7, inside. According to a probable cause statement, Deering pulled over while the children were playing in their yard, told them he was the "Messiah" and that they should get into his car so they could be safe.
A woman ushered the children inside, locked the door and then barricaded herself and the children in a back bedroom. According to the probable cause statement, Deering broke out a window and climbed into the house, then tried to open the barricaded door while telling the victims he was the Messiah and not to call the police.
A Sheriff's Office Deputy responded to the scene and took Deering into custody without incident, a press release said.
No one in the home was injured.
All three crimes appeared to be random "with no apparent reason for the attacks," a probable cause statement said.
He was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping and vehicle hijacking in St. Louis County.
Deering was charged with one count each of vehicle hijacking, third-degree assault and tampering with a motor vehicle; two counts of first-degree burglary; and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in Jefferson County.
The 33-year-old is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond.