ST. LOUIS — The man accused of stealing a Spire truck and leading police on a bi-state chase last week has stolen another car after he was released from jail, police said.
Sky5 captured the arrest of James Harris, 27, at the end of that pursuit on Sept. 17. Court records show he was released on Sept. 20 and a judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for him.
But on Friday, a woman reported her Jeep stolen from the parking lot of Harris-Stowe State University. Campus police said Harris is once again the suspect.
"When I described him to my family, they knew who he was," Whitney Moss said. "They were like, ‘He was just on the news.’ They pulled up pictures."
Moss was printing off resumes at the campus library when she noticed a man standing near her stuff. She said he asked to use her phone, so she let him. When he left, she noticed her keys were nowhere to be found.
"When I came out to check to see if my car was out here, it was gone,” she said.
Her 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee had a gun inside, she said.
"It aggravates me because I feel like he should not have been on the streets,” she said. “The next time it could be a carjacking or worse."
Anyone with information should contact the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Public Information Division at (314) 444-5603.
Harris-Stowe said they have turned over their surveillance video on St. Louis Police, and they sent 5 On Your Side the following statement:
"Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, faculty and staff. In recent years, we have strengthened the safety of our campus by increasing the number of trained public safety officers, deploying better technology and equipment, and strengthening partnerships with area police and public safety departments.
Earlier this afternoon a member of the community who was patronizing the campus library contacted the Harris-Stowe State University Public Safety Department. The individual reported that a former co-worker stole their vehicle, which was not parked on campus. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was contacted immediately and the suspect has been identified.
While Harris-Stowe is a safe campus, we still encourage our campus community to remain vigilant with regard to the safety of their person and property."
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