Police link smash and grab suspect to 9 more burglaries, teen faces additional federal charges

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) -- Charges have been filed against 18-year-old Zavion McGee in connection to a string of smash-and-grab burglaries.

According to court documents, McGee faces multiple felony burglary and property damage charges.

Investigators say McGee was the lookout driver during an October burglary at Colombo’s CAFÉ & Tavern on Manchester Avenue. $1,200 was stolen.

The 18-year-old is also accused of breaking into Good Day Farm Dispensary on Euclid Avenue. He and three others are suspected of stealing cases of marijuana products.

Cellphone records and a search warrant discovered clothes matching the ones worn during the robbery, which pinpointed McGee as a suspect.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police tell News 4 the teen has been linked to nine more robberies.

The FBI has announced additional charges against McGee.

Police say he fled when they tried to take him into custody, crashed his car, and ran. Officers later found over 440 grams of methamphetamine, six grams of fentanyl, a machine gun and over $8,000 in the vehicle and his home. McGee is looking at an additional four felony charges for illegal firearms and drug trafficking.

Detectives say McGee is a part of a group responsible for recent smash-and-grab robberies. He remains in jail without bond.

Friday morning Amaco Gas Station on Natural Bridge was robbed by a gang of thieves for the third time in 2022.

“The way that it was executed seemed very much planned,” says store manager Yuvi Dodiya.

The suspects used a heavy object to break in just after 3 a.m.

Exclusive surveillance video shows the suspects stealing cash registers, alcohol and liquor.

“I would say $3,000-$4,000 worth of items,” says Dodiya. “Usually, Decembers are hot when it comes to these types of crimes. Hopefully, we can crack them down and be ahead of them.”

Copyright 2022 KMOV. All rights reserved.