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A woman is found dead in East St. Louis, police say she was shot in the face. The Illinois State Police are assisting East St. Louis in the investigation of the city's third homicide this year. The victim is a 29-year-old woman and she was a known prostitute. Police do not have a motive or suspect at this time.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) - The eastern Missouri burglar busted by the peculiar hitch in his get-along has been sentenced to probation.

Wentzville police arrested 21-year-old David Moore in November for smashing through a glass door at Nu Way Concrete Forms and taking nearly $1,500 in cash.

Surveillance video showed the burglar pointing his toes outward as he walked. Surveillance tape shot four days earlier during business hours showed a man with the same walk. Employees had been suspicious of that man because he wore a heavy coat and gloves on a warm day. They wrote down his license plate number.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Moore pleaded guilty to burglary and theft Monday. In addition to probation he must serve 60 days of shock time and pay back the stolen money.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A suspect is dead after being shot and killed by police in St. Louis.

The shooting happened Thursday night near the Mississippi River. The suspect is identified as 32-year-old Jason Noroian of Des Peres.

Police say Port Authority officials reported two suspicious vehicles. After they were stopped, officers learned that an occupant of one of the vehicles had a warrant out for his arrest.

As the officer approached to arrest the man, he allegedly reached for the officer's gun and got it out of the holster. The men struggled and the officer tried to shoot, but the gun misfired.

When the man reached again for the gun, the officer fired again, hitting the man in the side. He died at a hospital.

An internal investigation is under way.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - Cape Girardeau police are investigating the shooting deaths of a 43-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman.

Police said a news release that officers arrested a suspect in the shootings after responding to a call late Thursday. The two victims were shot several times.

Officers found a man hiding in an alley near the scene and arrested him after a short foot chase.

The victims' names have not been released.

A St. Louis man has admitted to kidnapping and trying to rape a 15-year-old girl early last year.

Charles Smith said he grabbed the girl was she was walking to her bus stop on February 6 of last year. Smith forced her into his car at knife-point and drove her a few blocks away. That is when he ripped off the teen's pants and shoes. She was able to fight him off and got help from a passing driver.

Prosecutors will ask for life in prison when Smith is sentenced in April.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Two southwestern Illinois women have been ordered to spend at least two years in federal prison and repay more than $54,000 each for their roles in an income tax scheme.

A judge in East St. Louis sentenced 39-year-old Angenita Smith of Alton to 24 months in prison. Thirty-seven-year-old Tammy Smith of Alton was sentenced to 26 months behind bars. It isn't immediately clear if the women are related.

The Smiths pleaded guilty last October. Prosecutors say they falsely prepared W-2 tax forms and provided them to relatives and friends to enable them to get refunds by filing bogus federal income-tax returns.

The U.S. government says the Smiths lied to investigators, resulting in an increase in their prison sentences.

   

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A former fire chief has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 from the St. Clair Fire District in eastern Missouri.

Eric Hinson pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Sentencing is May 2.

Hinson admitted stealing the money from January 2006 through September 2011. He took cash advances on a district credit card and used the card for family vacations in Florida and Hawaii and to pay for personal purchases. He altered records to hide the theft.

Hinson started as a volunteer firefighter in 1985. He became chief in January 2011 and was paid about $25,000 annually for the part-time job.

He became chief in the St. Louis County town of Ladue in July 2011 but resigned two months later amid the St. Clair investigation