ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A suspected car thief tried to avoid arrest last week by hiding in a dumpster.
According to a probable cause statement by the Webster Groves Police Department, the theft happened around 6:45 a.m. on February 2, at a BP gas station in the 3100 block of South Brentwood Boulevard.
The victim told police he went inside the gas station and left his 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer running. Surveillance video shows a man in a red jacket, red pants, and orange ball cap get in the vehicle and drive away.
The thief tossed the victim’s iPhone from the Trailblazer, which police had been using to track the vehicle.
Maplewood police eventually located the vehicle and pursued the SUV back into Webster Groves.
The thief parked at an apartment complex connected to Webster University and fled on foot.
Police located the Trailblazer a short time and found the orange hat discarded a short distance from the vehicle.
A K-9 officer with the St. Louis County Police Department was called to assist in canvassing the area. The police dog led officers to a nearby dumpster, where they found Dino Hodzic.
Hodzic was wearing the same clothes as the thief in the surveillance video, minus the orange hat and red jacket. The jacket was found in the dumpster with Hodzic.
Police claim Hodzic admitted to “messing around with a car” and that he “knew it was wrong.”
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Hodzic (age not provided) with one count of stealing – motor vehicle. He’s been jailed on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
