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Suspect charged in Mid Rivers Mall carjacking

The victim was taken to an area hospital and released with non-life threatening injuries.
Credit: Getty images
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ST. PETERS, Mo. – An arrest has been made after an assault and carjacking that occurred at Mid Rivers Mall Saturday morning.

Around 11:15 a.m., the victim, 59, told police the suspect approached the passenger side of his car and asked him for a cigarette. While he was distracted, the suspect entered the car, displayed a gun and told the victim to get out.

The victim tried to defend himself and sustained several injuries to his face. When the victim was able to get out of the car, the suspect fled the area in the car, a Chevy Trailblazer.

“That's the thing that blows my mind. 11 o’clock in the morning, everybody's out at that time,” shopper Janet Arevalo said.

Arevalo saw the police response to the carjacking at the mall.

"It's St. Peters. Stuff like that just doesn't typically happen in St. Peters,” she said.

Witnesses saw the suspect drive off the in SUV and later ditch it on in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 when it blew a tire, police said. That suspect was then seen getting into a white Hyundai Sonata.

Police have arrested a suspect in this case, 23-year-old Darius L. Smiley. He's been charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, and third-degree assault. He's being held at the St. Charles County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

About 20 minutes later, a similar incident occurred in St. Charles County at Ameristar Casino.

Police eventually stopped that suspect in a white Hyundai Sonata in north county, arresting him and recovering a gun.

Police are now investigating to see if the suspect in the Ameristar Casino carjacking had anything to do with the incident at the mall.

"That close together, broad daylight, I guess with the holidays, people get desperate,” Arevalo said. “That’s crazy."

The victim was taken to an area hospital and released with non-life threatening injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Solvers hotline at (636) 278-1000.

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