Man charged, accused of reversing into officer trying to arrest him

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A man was charged Wednesday, accused of reversing into and hitting an officer with a car.

On Wednesday, St. Louis County Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Marquis Hardin with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle and two counts of first-degree property damage. He is being held on a $500,000 cash-only, no 10% bond.

According to a St. Louis County Police affidavit, Toyota Safety had called police on Aug. 11 to report that a previously stolen 2025 Toyota Camry was idling on Terrace Lane in Jennings. The car had been reported stolen from St. Louis City a month prior.

Just before midnight on Aug. 11, two St. Louis County officers went to Terrace Lane and found the stolen car, still idling.

While trying to take Hardin, who they say was in the driver’s seat of the Camry, into custody, he began reversing, and an officer attempted to open the front passenger door.

Investigators say Hardin continued reversing, and the officer got pinned by the passenger door and a parked car on the street.

After crashing into the parked car, police say Hardin sped away. The Camry was found minutes later, abandoned and totaled. The parked car was also totaled, investigators say.

Police say when they searched the Camry, they found a receipt from a Schnucks. Investigators were able to get surveillance video that showed Hardin from information obtained from the receipt.

Hardin was arrested on Oct. 25 in St. Louis City, where he is charged with aggravated fleeing and first-degree tampering. Inside the city jail, St. Louis County investigators interviewed Hardin, and they say he admitted to the crimes committed in Jennings.