ST. LOUIS – A Jeep service receipt helped authorities track down a recent St. Louis murder suspect.
Prosecutors have charged Christopher Vales, 30, with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the investigation. Authorities arrested Vales on Aug. 5 after he was accused in a man’s shooting death several months prior.
On March 10, Vales reportedly fired shots at J’uan Wilson outside the Mobil gas station in the 4000 block of Union Boulevard. Wilson was heading to the gas station to meet a relative for some marijuana, according to court documents obtained by FOX 2. After Wilson arrived, investigators say Vales fired shots from his vehicle.
Surveillance video from the store shows the suspect was driving a Jeep when the shots were fired, quickly passing by and leaving the scene of the shooting.
While police investigated the case, they found a Jeep at a home consistent with one from surveillance video in the shooting nearly three months after the shooting. A relative of Wilson lived at that home. Police later acquired a warrant and found a receipt from Dobbs claiming that service work had been done just a few days before on the Jeep.
Police then issued a warrant for information relevant to that service. According to court documents, that then led officers to Vales’ Facebook page with pictures of him and the Jeep. Authorities also reviewed phone records that revealed Vales’ phone was pinned to the nearest tower of the Dobbs service station during the time mechanics worked on the vehicle.
Investigators have not yet disclosed a motive in the shooting. Vales is jailed in St. Louis City without bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 18 in the case.