Smash-and-grab at a South St. Louis Radio Shack.

Smash-and-grab at a South St. Louis Radio Shack.
Summer Knowles
January 5, 2009

A smash and grab at a Radio Shack on South Broadway in South St. Louis.

"I heard a boom."

This man was right next door when it happened and says he saw four men in a flatbed truck backing into the store's glass doors.

"They were throwing stuff from radio shack into the back of the truck and they were really busy for about 5 minutes then the alarm went off and they ran on off."

But this isn't anything St. Louisans haven't seen or heard about before. Over the last few months there have been about a dozen smash and grabs in the St. Louis metro area, including this one in Creve Couer where surveillance video shows two men hurling bricks, smashing a front window and then breaking into the "sound room" on Olive street. There were also smash and grabs at an Office Depot in South St. Louis and a National Rent to own store. In Cahokia each time the suspects made off with cameras or tv sets.

"They didn't want to be left out with the digital switchover coming and all… decided hey its easy to smash and grab." Aaron Hatch - Resident

Police aren't sure if the incidents are related, but they are looking into it.

The Radio Shack thieves skipped over laptops and the register, but took one large, flat screen tv…and two blue ray dvd players…for a total value of about $1000.

"It's a smash and grab…somebody was coming. "

At least $1000 worth of damage at the store. But it's still open for business.