Man Arrested For Theft of U-Haul Vehicle

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS – Fairview Heights police arrested a St. Louis man in the parking lot of a Lowe’s store after officers said they found him connected to a stolen U-Haul vehicle, authorities reported.

Fairview Heights Police said the department was dispatched March 15, 2026, to the Lowe’s parking lot at 6211 North Illinois in Fairview Heights, Illinois, after a report of a stolen U-Haul vehicle possibly in the lot. Fairview Heights Police officers contacted the reporting party, described as an off-duty U-Haul employee, and determined the U-Haul in the parking lot had been stolen out of St. Louis, police said.

Officers maintained surveillance of the vehicle and coordinated with Lowe’s loss prevention to obtain a possible suspect description, according to police. A male suspect was observed in the parking lot and, after a short foot pursuit, was taken into custody without incident, police said.

On March 16, 2026, Wade L. Griffin of the 2800 Block of Missouri Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, was charged by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office with Unlawful Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine.

Wade Griffin remains in custody at the St. Clair County Jail pending further court proceedings.