Florissant Man Breaks Into Pet Store, Vandalizes Aquariums, Police Say

Hazelwood Police said an officer responding to a burglary call saw the defendant smashing aquariums in Beldt’s Aquarium on Howdershell Road.

A Florissant man broke into a closed Hazelwood pet store and broke aquariums Dec. 31, police said. A witness reported seeing Joseph Lombardo, 38, shatter a rear, glass door at Beldt’s Aquarium at 7025 Howdershell Road and go inside, Hazelwood Police said. A Hazelwood officer responding to the call said he saw Lombardo inside the store throwing the aquariums on the floor. Lombardo, 38, of the 300 block of DeSmet Drive in Florissant, was charged Jan. 1 with second-degree burglary and second-degree property damage. He was being held in St. Louis County jail Friday. Bail was set at $15,000. The owner of the former Beldt’s Aquarium, Mike Mansfield, was killed in an apartment fire last August. The store had been closed for several months before …

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