ST. CHARLES COUNTY   •   A former St. Charles County police officer has pleaded guilty of stealing items from a bait car while he was responding to a call for an abandoned vehicle.

Matthew Clayton Howze, 40, will be sentenced May 16 in the case.

Howze, of Bowling Green, Mo., pleaded guilty Monday to charges of theft and tampering with evidence, according to court records.

When he was charged in February of last year, authorities said he took a digital camera, a parka, a cordless drill, a tool bag, sunglasses and cash from a car near Defiance.

The scene was staged by authorities after they received an internal tip that he might be stealing items on duty. Howze, who was fired after the incident, had been a county officer for 10 years.