ARRESTED: Man Wanted For Town and Country, Ladue, St. Louis County Thefts

Jeremy Burkhalter, wanted in connection to numerous thefts in Town and Country and a felony for stealing in St. Louis County, was arrested around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Burkhalter was previously arrested in Manchester this year. He's been on the Ladue pursuit list for quite some time.

Town and Country police said officers took Burkhalter, suspected of more than 50 crimes across the St. Louis area, including car thefts, into custody after a foot pursuit on Turnberry Park Lane near Clayton and Ballas roads in Town and Country. Investigators said it was a heroin addiction that fed Burkhalter's alleged crime spree.

Police said Burkhalter, 27, of St. Louis, was caught after being seen in Town and Country this morning driving a car stolen from Kirkwood earlier this week.

Town and Country Police Cpt. Gary Hoelzer told Patch that Burkhalter had already been spotted in other jurisdictions early Thursday morning before he made it to Town and Country. 

"So we knew he as out there, and we were looking for him," Hoelzer said.

Town and Country Police Sergeant John Flanagan spotted and followed Burkhalter onto Turnberry Park Lane, where, unknown to Burkhalter, another Town and Country police officer was patrolling. Investigators said Burkhalter soon realized he was caught between the two officers, so he turned into a residential driveway and then fled on foot.

"Our detectives were at the station meeting up with detectives from other police departments along with U.S. Marshals to track down Burkhalter when he came right into the lair," said Town and Country Police Cpt. Gary Hoelzer.

Hoelzer said in a news release that officers and detectives from Des Peres, Kirkwood, Maryland Heights and Ladue converged on the area, and Burkhalter was taken into custody without incident.

"Great work by Sergeant Flanagan, Officer Ronnie Nicoletti, Corporal Chris Moore and all three of our detectives: Sergeant Rick Kranz, Joe Giacopelli and Jim Gorman," Hoelzer said. "It's one of those where it takes a lot of people to get involved, including the community."

Hoelzer said the reason Burkhalter kept returning to cities where police were actively searching for him was due to a heroin addiction.

"This is an anecdotal experience with heroin," Hoelzer said. "He was going to commit crimes until he was caught to feed his habit."

Burkhalter is currently being held in Town and Country and will be transferred to the St. Louis County Jail on St. Louis County warrants. Warrants for Town and Country are pending.

Manchester police told Town and Country-Manchester Patch that Burkhalter was also arrested for thefts committed in Manchester in February and March of this year.

"I actually arrested him," said Detective Craig Smith with the Manchester Police Department. "We had a bunch of what we call 'car cloutings,' or car break-ins, around 35 of them. At that time, we didn't have any suspects."

But then Jeremy Burkhalter got arrested in Ladue for allegedly breaking into cars, Smith said.

"He had a lot of stolen property inside his vehicle, including some that belonged to the Manchester residents," Smith said. "I interviewed him. He admitted to doing it on some of our vehicles, but not all of the vehicles. Right after we arrested him, it stopped on a regular basis."

Smith said at the time of Burkhalter's arrest in March, it was evident to police that a heroin addiction may be fueling the alleged criminal behavior.

"Oh yeah, this guy, he's into it pretty heavy," Smith told Patch. "Drugs make you do all kinds of stuff.

Ladue's Administrative Lieutenant Bill Baker said the city had been looking for him for quite some time.

"He'd done 5-6 automobile break ins, trying to support that heroin addiction for some time,"said Baker. "We had his finger prints on a car he broke into on Glen View Drive," said Baker. "I know he's been wanted by a number of municipalities for some time."