Arroyo Grande man accused of arson, burglary

March 3, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

An Arroyo Grande man is in jail after he allegedly burglarized a gas station in Missouri and then set the building on fire on Feb. 28.

Early Tuesday morning, Marion County sheriff deputies responded to a fire alarm at the Sunco Gas station on Highway 24 and discovered a thief had burglarized the station before setting the fire. The thief, who was captured on surveillance video, took hundreds of lottery tickets.

Later in the day, a deputy stopped Shawn Stankewitz, 38, on Interstate 55 in Illinois for a traffic violation when a K9 alerted to drugs in the car. During a search of the vehicle, the deputy found 38 Nevada license plates, 416 Missouri Lottery scratch-off tickets and eight pills.

Deputies determined the suspect in the gas station burglary video was Stankewitz.

An investigation into the license plates, which were in sequential order, is ongoing. Deputies are working with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles to determine if the plates were stolen.

At the time of his arrest, Stankewitz was wanted on a no-bond warrant for violating his parole in California. The suspect has a criminal history that includes assault and burglary convictions.