The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported an interesting case, back in September 1988. This was straight from the mean streets of Lafayette Square. Bill Bryan of the P-D staff wrote a pair of brief articles, and this is a summary.
Jerry Patterson lived on the 2000 block of Lafayette Avenue. He phoned the police to report the apparent theft of a hibiscus tree from his back yard.
Officers responded to the call. They scoured the crime scene and determined that the plant in question may have been anemic. Dropping its dead leaves, it left a breadcrumb trail that might lead to the thief. They followed the shedded leaves to a residence in the 1700 block of Nicholson Place.
Hot on the hibiscus trail
Returning later with a search warrant, officers entered the suspect’s home and seized a hibiscus tree. They also discovered reason to believe this was not an isolated plant-napping, as they recovered seven other exotic botanicals and some lawn ornaments.
Sgt. Tim McEntee was lead investigator on the scene, He commented, “All the plants we seized have long names. We believe they were stolen from plant lovers in the Lafayette area, but nobody except the hibiscus owner has come forward”.
Police then began a search for the occupant of the apartment. They turned up a 29-year old male, and charged him with four counts of misdemeanor theft. He admitted his involvement in the theft of plants from our neighborhood, which the Post-Dispatch characterized as “an enclave for young urban professionals”
The apprehended man may have been the ringleader of a larger gang. He implicated others, and pointed out sites in the Square where they had stolen other plants.
A relieved community tends its greenery
If it wasn’t for the trail the perpetrator left behind, the plant gang might be at it yet today. The Post-Dispatch created a nice headline to accompany the story:
CRIME BLOOMS IN LAND OF YUPPIES WITH THEFT OF EXOTIC PLANTS
“Land of yuppies”? Were Webster Groves hibiscuses any better protected from the pilfering of potted plants than those in the Square? At least back in 1988, the Post-Dispatch considered the Square to be on the upscale bounce. Quite nice progress to report, in contrast to years before, when folks were stealing away wholesale with the neighborhood’s cars and air conditioners.
Note: I’ve got a thing about trees and plants. If you share this condition, please consider taking a look at related essay – Vile Wild Violets at lafayettesquarearchives.com/2013-vile-wild-violets/
That’s hilarious. Apparently the police had a lot more time on their hands then.
Hey, Rob; thanks for the reading. Yeah, I recently tried to figure when the Square made the transition from slum (say 1951) to chi-chi yuppie enclave. First use I can find of “young urban professional” in reference to the Square was back in 1991. That seems recent until you realize it’s already 32 years in the rear view mirror. That the police could give this a full-on investigation seemed to bring the Square right out of the city, and into Town and Country.