ST. LOUIS — Two suspects were taken into custody Wednesday after a St. Louis city sheriff's deputy was carjacked and robbed just outside of the Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis.
A law enforcement source told 5 On Your Side's Christine Byers a St. Louis city sheriff's deputy was working a secondary job at the Blues game Monday night. He came outside after getting off work, and his car was leaking coolant at about 12:20 a.m. at Clark Avenue and 15th Street.
The 37-year-old deputy was parked outside of the arena and waiting for a tow truck to arrive when two armed suspects came up and demanded he get out of his car. At the time, the deputy was in full uniform, the source said.
When the deputy got out of his vehicle, the suspects began fighting with him for the weapon in his holster. Lt. Michael Gamache, who was the supervisor on call Tuesday morning, said the suspects told the deputy to give up his gun.
"He still had his hands up. He said, 'Just go, I'm not giving you my gun,'" he said. "One male put a gun to his head and told him to, 'Give up your gun.' The other male reached across and was able to undo it from his holster and took his gun."
After a brief struggle, they were able to steal the deputy's gun and phone, and the pair drove off in his 2011 Chevy Cruze, the source said.
Lt. Gamache said he was shocked when he heard what had happened because he said it was unlike anything he's dealt with before.
"It's nerve-racking. I mean you're out there doing your job and you're in full uniform, you don't think anything like this is going to happen to you, and sure enough, it does," Lt. Gamache said.
Investigators were able to track the suspects on Interstate 64 in Illinois using the "Find My iPhone" feature and the car's GPS but weren't able to find them, according to Lt. Gamache.
"He was pretty shocked. He couldn't believe it happened to him, especially in full uniform, little bit of embarrassment that it did happen to him. Scared," he said.
The sheriff for the City of St. Louis, Vernon Betts, said the reason they wanted to share this story is to show people that "if it happens to them, it can happen to you."
"Safety in numbers, unfortunately, our deputy was by himself. If there was somebody else with him, we don't know if it would have happened or not," Lt. Gamache said.
Another tip from the sheriff's office is if you are having car troubles, try to park somewhere that's lit.
The two suspects in the carjacking were taken into custody Wednesday in Madison, Illinois, according to Betts.
The deputy was able to track his cell phone to Madison, which led police to search the area, Betts said. Police eventually found the stolen car behind an auto body shop and the suspects nearby.
According to police, no one was injured during the incident.
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