O’FALLON, Mo. — An O’Fallon, Mo., man is facing multiple burglary charges after police say that he broke into multiple businesses and a local high school.
Brandon Murphy, 39, of O’Fallon, was charged Tuesday with one count of second-degree burglary, one count of property damage, one count of felony stealing and one count of misdemeanor stealing.
The charges against Murphy primarily stem from a Nov. 16 break-in at St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon. The felony stealing charge is related to the Nov. 17 burglary of an O’Fallon business, according to court documents.
Investigators say that school security footage captured a man wearing a red hoodie and black sweatpants riding a bicycle around the school building late at night. Once at the back of the school, the man then used a combination of power tools and a hatchet to take off the door to the school’s walk-in food cooler. It is unclear if the cooler is located outside of the school’s main building at 31 St. Dominic Drive.
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Once the door was removed, police say that the man — later identified as Murphy — removed “multiple plastic bags filled with various food items” from the cooler. In total, school officials say that he stole more than $650 in food from the school, which is part of the St. Louis Archdiocese’s educational system.
Lisa Shea, a spokesperson for the St. Louis Archdiocese, said the administrators have told her that Murphy “is not a member of the school community.”
Investigators say that Murphy is later seen on camera walking up to a security camera and “pushing it up and out of focus.” That camera is damaged and must now be repaired for $500, according to school officials.
Days later, a witness spotted Murphy pulling a rolling suitcase along the railroad tracks that are north of St. Dominic High School. The witness told police they believed Murphy had burglarized their business days earlier.
Murphy matched the description of the man spotted breaking into the O’Fallon business on Nov. 17 and stealing more than $3,500 in power tools.
O’Fallon officers searched the area, finding a suitcase with numerous power tools inside that matched the ones stolen from the O’Fallon business.
Officers later spotted Murphy walking westbound along the railroad tracks, wearing a backpack and pushing a bicycle that matched the one seen in the security video from the school. A search of his backpack revealed tools that matched those used in the St. Dominic burglary, court records say.
Murphy was taken into custody. He is being held on a $25,000 cash-only bond in the St. Dominic-related case and on a $10,000-cash only bond for the power tool-related case.
No hearings have been scheduled in either case.
