ST. LOUIS — Officers at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are asking people to come get their stuff.
The department on Thursday uploaded 121 images to its website, each a picture of an allegedly stolen item police recovered during an investigation.
"On April 2, 2024, the South Patrol Burglary Squad executed a search warrant in the 2700 block of Hermitage in furtherance of a long-term investigation into thefts from burglaries of residences, garages, businesses, and storage facilities," the department's website said. "Numerous items believed to be stolen during these burglaries were recovered from the residence."
Police said three people were arrested at the residence, including the target of the investigation, Gage Luttman.
Prosecutors charged Luttman, 36, with 14 charges in total, including five counts of first-degree burglary, three counts of stealing, two counts of first-degree property damage, two counts of first-degree trespassing, and one count each of vehicle theft and second-degree property damage.
Police posted photos of a variety of recovered items, including home appliances, electrical equipment, landscaping hardware and personal objects.
Anyone who believes one of the items is theirs is asked to contact the department's South Patrol Burglary Squad by email at recoveredproperty@slmpd.org. Individuals are asked to include their name, phone number, the property they believe is theirs, and a police report number issued by the agency they reported the theft to, if possible.
“I saw bicycles, an air conditioner, heater combinations, ladders, lots of tires, new windows. Just all kinds of stuff,” said a neighbor, who asked 5 On Your Side to not disclose his name.
“The house was loaded with just all kinds of stuff. The police loaded up a big box truck and they said they would probably have to come back with a couple more. I just couldn’t believe it,” the neighbor said.
Neighbors say police spent more than several hours packing up the items. For more than a year, neighbors said they complained about suspicious activity and possible drug dealing at the home.
“There’s just a lot of traffic coming in and out a lot of activity in the backyard as far as moving stuff around. This was just never good for our neighborhood,” said Steve Gibson.
Now, there’s big relief after the big bust, arrests and the house has since been condemned.
“The whole neighborhood is just ecstatic. We just look at each other and just give everybody the thumbs up,” said the concerned neighbor.
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