ST CHARLES, Mo. — Jimmie Bates III is accused of committing a bold break-in at of all places, a fire station in St. Charles, Missouri.
The crime has left veteran Police Lieutenant Susan Shields shaking her head.
"It was odd. Brazen. He didn't know if he was gonna encounter anybody inside the fire department," said Shields.
On Monday, firefighters at Firehouse #5 told police they left the station on Hawks Nest Drive to respond to a traffic crash.
They said when they returned, one firefighter's jacket, even a firefighter's shoes, another one's wireless earbuds and backpack, were all missing.
Police said Bates got inside the firehouse through an unsecured bay door and once inside, they said Bates stole all kinds of things and then took off in a firefighter's truck.
"They were able to track the location of the air pods which led to the location of the vehicle in the parking lot of a hotel, so they set up surveillance on that and waited for somebody to come out to the vehicle, which, Mr. Bates did," said Shields.
Police say when they tracked Bates about 11 miles away on North Lindbergh in St. Ann, he was wearing the stolen St. Charles City fire jacket, sweatshirt and victim's shoes.
Prosecutors charged Bates with burglary, stealing a motor vehicle and stealing items valued at more than $750.
What's more, Bates is expected to face additional charges in an unrelated crime.
Bridgeton police said hours before the fire station burglary, they found the 28-year-old man in a truck reported stolen from a business in that area. "It's kind of a crazy story, " added Shields.
Police said Bates also stole a city-issued handheld radio from the fire station.
Thursday night, Bates remains in the St. Charles County jail.
Records show he has previous convictions in Minnesota on charges of robbery, fleeing police and drug-related offenses.