ST ANN, Mo. — St. Ann police shared the stunning video.
They say a neighbor's surveillance camera caught an armed man in the act Monday afternoon when he ran up to a house, stole a woman's purse then hopped in a silver Jeep and sped off.
"Very dangerous. She was traumatized," said Detective Sergeant Monica Ruelas with the St. Ann Police Department on Thursday.
The 44-year-old St. Peters woman wasn't hurt.
Police say the suspected robber, 36-year-old Brian Briggs, first spotted the victim when she stood in a checkout line at a Walgreens on St. Charles Rock Road in St. Ann.
"So, allegedly he went into the Walgreens, saw her counting large sums of money," added Detective Sergeant Ruelas.
Investigators say Briggs then followed the customer to her brother's home, pulled out a gun and stole the woman's cash.
But, the next day?
"We are very satisfied with the Flock system," said Detective Sergeant Ruelas.
St. Ann Police thanks to their new, license plate reading "Flock cameras," surveillance video from Walgreens and good police work, their Swat Team tracked down Brian Briggs and her getaway car to his home in Overland and arrested him.
Prosecutors charged Briggs with robbery and armed criminal action.
"We had prior contact with the suspect and that vehicle. At that point, we utilized the Flock system. We also utilized other investigative tools," added Ruelas.
The Flock cameras provided detectives with real-time data and details about Briggs' car.
"We can narrow it down to vehicle color, any kind of stickers that it has or anything like that and it really helps," added Detective Sergeant Monica Ruelas.
The flat cameras are mounted on traffic signals and in other areas, they're atop thin poles.
St. Ann is leasing 11 of the Flock cameras.
Currently, six are up and running around the community; and so far, police say they have helped them crack down on a variety of criminals.
"Anything from a burglary, to leaving the scene of an accident, we've been able to utilize those cameras," Detective Sergeant Ruelas said.
"I think there should be more," said neighbor, Cathy Antonelli.
Antonelli likes seeing the solar-powered Flock camera that's across from her home on busy Adie Road.
"I'm hoping the cameras will help more with speeders and the people that are running lights and stop signs because that's a problem," said Antonelli.
"The cameras are very beneficial," said Detective Sergeant Monica Ruelas.