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Catalytic converters stolen from Belleville school buses

Published

2 years ago

January 15, 2023

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BELLEVILLE, Ill. – Thieves broke into a school bus yard and stole several catalytic converters from school buses in Belleville, Illinois. There is a damage assessment Friday for small school buses.

“We’re cooperating with the Belleville Police Department for the investigation,” said Brian Mentzer, superintendent for the Belleville School District 201. “It does appear that 17 of our buses, their catalytic converters were stolen. It appears they entered the property from the rear and removing them that same way as well.”

It all occurred sometime overnight at the Belleville School District 201 bus yard on Mascoutah Avenue.

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The catalytic converters were cut from the bottom of the buses. School officials did not know about the situation until they arrived Friday morning to start the buses to pick kids up for school.

“It does not appear that we had any significant delays,” Mentzer said. “Obviously, that’s a considerable number of buses considering our small bus fleet. There were some minor glitches, but it appears we were able to get everyone to school this morning.”

Mentzer said different buses were put into service to run the routes that the impacted buses would normally do. He said the smaller buses that were hit serve special education and special needs students, and that the bigger buses, which run on diesel, don’t have catalytic converters.

Mentzer said school officials are working with Belleville Police on this case and checking surveillance cameras on the lot. Those images are being reviewed to see if they can help with the investigation.

The superintendent said there are 220 buses on the lot and that it serves eight different districts.

“Anytime you’re dealing with the public’s money, it’s frustrating when people have disregard for that,” Mentzer said. “In our case, we provide transportation to our feeder districts, so we really view this as a service as a community to be able to do this, so yeah, it’s unfortunate.”

If anyone has any information on these thefts, you are encouraged to call the Belleville Police Department.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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