Network
Images: KMOV St. Louis
It’s been just over two weeks now since a 1956 Chevy was stolen from a three-car garage in Washington, Missouri and police have finally tracked down the suspect and charged him for the crime. But it wasn’t just the classic Chevy that Missouri’s John M. Taylor Jr. has admitted to stealing, according to the Missourian. In fact, there are at least eight other vehicles the 30-year-old has confessed to stealing in the area over the last two months.
The 1956 Chevy was stolen around 5:00 a.m. on Monday, October 27th. Shortly after, police were notified by a witness that the car was traveling east on Interstate 44 before getting off and continuing to travel east on West Osage Street in the town of Gray Summit. At some point, police spotted the vehicle and pursued it onto a dead-end street where the suspect ditched the car and took off on foot.
The ’56 Chevy was said to have only sustained minor scratches after “bumping into a chain link fence”, according to Washington Detective Sgt. Steve Sitzes.
Ironically, it was just one week before the ’56 Chevy was stolen that police had John M. Taylor Jr. in custody. Taylor was initially arrested on suspicion of burglary after being found inside the burglarized Twisted Fish tavern. However, he was let go after the Franklin County prosecutor’s office declined to file charges in the burglary and took the case on under advisement.
Just days after his release, Taylor allegedly stole an SUV and used it to drag a trailer from in front of the garage containing the ’56 Chevy.
Upon his arrest, Taylor confessed to stealing nine vehicles over the last two months, though police are investigating other car thefts in the area to determine if Taylor was involved.
Police allege that Taylor was stealing vehicles and using them to move narcotics from St. Louis to the Franklin County area.
With his parole from previous crimes committed revoked, Taylor is now back in prison at the Missouri Division of Corrections. Because of his latest alleged crime spree, Taylor will resume serving his 4-year sentence for previous forgery and fraud charges, as well as face new charges including second-degree burglary, resisting arrest, misdemeanor stealing, and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle for the theft of the ’56 Chevy.
