CRESTWOOD, Mo. — Blake Elsner said in the thick of the night, several young men, possibly teenagers, rode down his Crestwood street, hopped out of a black Cadillac Escalade and went on a daring crime spree.
"It's crazy. It's shocking because of how fast and efficient and how many cars they can hit within 60 seconds," said Elsner.
Police said the young criminals first stole the Escalade from south St. Louis County around 1:30 Wednesday morning.
More than two hours later, the culprits then stole three cars in the Crestwood area.
Two were stolen on Briarton Drive. A third vehicle was taken from nearby Lodge Drive.
One of the stolen cars had a gun inside.
"They're up and down a street a mile long in about three minutes," Elsner said.
Elsner's ring doorbell camera caught the crooks on video stealing his 2019 Nissan Altima parked outside his home.
It was full of expensive items.
"Two car seats, a nice stroller and I had a camera in my car. I bet I lost more than $2,500 worth of items," he estimated.
Police believe the same four crooks broke into at least six cars and rummaged through the vehicles.
"I don't believe anything (of mine) was taken," said Jim Rigby, Elsner's next door neighbor.
Rigby's Kia SUV was hit in his driveway.
"People have to be aware. Make sure everything's locked, but more than that, try to watch out for each other," Rigby said.
Police also reminded people to never leave your valuables on your front seats.
They say the three stolen cars were unlocked.
Officers found one of them undamaged near the intersection of Choteau and Tucker Boulevard in the city.
Elsner hopes he could be so lucky.
"Hey, at the end of the day nobody was hurt and we're all healthy and that's all that matters," Elsner said.