Man charged after stealing eight cars in six weeks

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis man is facing multiple charges for a string of burglaries and car thefts.

Court records show Jacob Hinson is charged with stealing eight cars in six weeks from automotive shops in south St. Louis.

"Tried kicking in our lower bay door, and then proceeded to lift the door up with a pry bar and scoop up all the keys from underneath the door from customers' vehicles that were dropped off over the weekend," Tom Bess, owner of Tom Bess Automotive, said.

Tom Bess Automotive is the most recent burglary. Police say it is the same man at each auto shop.

"We have him on camera everywhere. It is one individual, and we're tired of it," Bess added.

The first burglary happened at Car-X Tire on Kingshighway back on Sept. 30, where Hinson stole a Toyota Highlander, according to police.

Hinson hit a total of nine auto shops across the city over the next six weeks.

"Stole one vehicle, brought it back, then stole another truck and damaged our door. This is not the first time it has happened by this same guy," Bess said.

Hinson stole customers keys that had to be replaced and broke a mirror in one car.

Bess estimates the damage to be around $1,000 at his shop alone.

"They need to put these people in jail. This is nine businesses that he's got, and it is the same guy at all the businesses," he said.