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Historic building in St. Louis vandalized, left unsecured

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ST. LOUIS – A signature building in downtown St. Louis is now a danger to the public. The Railway Exchange, a 110-year-old architectural gem and former home of the Famous Barr department store, now has wide open points of entry with no security presence after sitting empty for nearly a decade.

Along with names and logos from the likes of Purina, KPMG, and AT&T, a new moniker is part of the city skyline: YAKSAP, one of the many graffiti “tags” painted atop the building.

From the ground, it’s easy to see how vandals get up to the roof. They can simply walk through shattered storefront windows or yank down plywood boards and take the stairs.

Top Story: Historic building in St. Louis vandalized, left unsecured

A City of St. Louis code enforcement team and a police officer inspected the building on Tuesday. They found open access to stairways with open points of entry into the structure on all four sides of a building that occupies an entire city block at 7th and Olive Street.

“It’s a shame,” said Karen Mienheartt of Arnold, who works downtown. “The architecture is amazing, just amazing. It’s just going to waste. This building is beautiful. You don’t know what’s in there, though. People break out the windows, slide in between those boards. You can’t walk the streets of downtown anymore. I remember when you could.”

Mienheartt said she can remember when there were toys and the latest fashions in those storefront windows. The elaborate toy train displays were mainstays of the St. Louis holiday tradition.

A long-time resident who used to work in the building for Famous Barr said she was writing St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones about her concerns.

“If this would catch on fire, you would have a firestorm, nothing but air and oxygen coming in,” she said. “That’s scary.”

St. Louis police confirmed recent arrests of wanted felons inside the building.

The City of St. Louis Building Division has now posted notices of condemnation, saying the building owner, Hudson Holdings of Delray Beach, Florida, is subject to fines of up to $500 per day as long as the building remains out of code and unsecured.

Greater St. Louis Inc., which works to grow the economy in the St. Louis area, sent out the following statement from its Chief Downtown Officer, Kurt Weigle:

“Ensuring downtown is the safe, walkable, and vibrant neighborhood at the heart of our metro is critical to the growth and success of the entire St. Louis region. The people who did this should be held accountable. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of property owners to maintain the safety and security of their property. When those property owners are derelict in their responsibility, the city must hold them accountable.”

The building remained open with no security Tuesday night.

There was no comment from Hudson Holdings.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

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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

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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

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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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