KANSAS CITY—Thanks to an alert neighbor and a deputy in the right place at the right time, a woman who stole about $11,000 worth of items and then eluded law enforcement is now in custody and charged with multiple crimes.
According to the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff, just after 11a.m. June 27, residents in a new housing development north of Liberty saw a truck pull up at a nearby house under construction. The driver backed the truck up to the garage and started loading windows into it. The neighbor confronted them, stating they were not supposed to be there. A woman got into the driver’s seat, and two men got in too. They drove around the neighbor, over lumber in the yard, and headed south. The neighbor called 911 and contacted the homebuilder, who later confirmed no crews were supposed to be working that day.
A deputy headed in the direction of the neighborhood and spotted the truck southbound on Interstate 35 from Missouri 291 Highway. He could see all the stolen windows in the truck’s bed. The driver refused stop. The deputy pursued the truck until it crossed the Missouri River, at which time Missouri State Highway Patrol took over. A short time later, Kansas City Missouri Police Department officers found the truck abandoned and still running in the 1400 block of Genessee Street. KCPD also found and arrested the woman who was driving the vehicle. When he was sent a picture from the scene, the neighbor who called 911 confirmed she was the same one he saw stealing the windows.
The two men who were in the truck have not yet been located. The truck had been reported stolen just three days prior. There was no key in the ignition, and deputies had to turn it off with a knife. Inside the truck, deputies located items commonly used for burglaries and vehicle thefts, as well as drug paraphernalia.
Brittany R. Hamilton, 32, has been charged with burglary, stealing, tampering with a motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing a stop – all felonies. She is in custody in The Clay Detention Center on a $90,000 bond.