Theft and Property Crimes

September 11, 2017

Looting, Price Gouging, & Other Unfortunate Consequences of Hurricanes

Unfortunately, many people look at the potential misfortune others face as an opportunity to “loot” others’ possession, raise

Courtesy NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center/Handout

prices, and commit other crimes. Given the harsh hurricane season and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, those in the Houston areas and all across Florida may become the victims of looters and price gouging in addition to the other issues they face following the devastation often left behind.

Following Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, officials were not going to make it easy for those who were considering breaking into homes or businesses for the purpose of stealing. Lawmakers vowed zero tolerance for looters, and according to news reports arrested 14 individuals. Other reports claimed that following the hurricane, nearly 100 firearms were stolen from stores in the area. Continue reading

January 8, 2016

Second Auto Theft in Ypsilanti Over the Last Week as Running Car Gets Stolen from Driveway

by Scott Grabel

On Thursday January 7, a car that was left running in a driveway in Ypsilanti was stolen according to a news report at Mlive.com. Authorities say the car, a 2005 silver Chevrolet Impala, was at a residence in the 1000 block of Nash Avenue when the incident occurred.

Two unknown suspects were last observed driving the vehicle north on Nash. The car is reported to have a dent in the front driver side quarter panel, and a paper plate in the rear window.

Just two days earlier, a woman left her vehicle running as she went inside a business in Ypsilanti; her vehicle was gone when she returned just 10 minutes later. This incident occurred in the 600 block of East Michigan Avenue. In this case, the vehicle stolen was a 2010 Ford Fusion, gray in color, with damage to the right side of the front bumper. Reports claim the bumper has duct tape on it.

December 11, 2015

Police in Search of Man Suspected of Entering East Lansing Apartment

by Scott Grabel

Yesterday it was announced that Meridian Township Police were in search of a man who entered an apartment at The Lodges Apartments located near MSU’s campus. According to WILX-TV, the man is believed to have walked into an unlocked apartment while the woman who lived there was taking a shower.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when the man entered the apartment and waited in the bedroom as the young woman showered. As he waited, the woman’s roommate came home; the suspect then ran off. Police are calling the man a “home invasion suspect,” and believe him to be a while male in his mid-twenties, about 5′ 10″ tall with a medium build and brown hair.

Lieutenant Greg Frenger said the police believe the man had been watching the woman and her apartment, and that he knew she would be alone when he entered. Frenger also believes the woman left the apartment door unlocked, a practice that is all too common in the apartment complex. A neighbor who lives across the hall from where the incident took place said that residents don’t always lock their doors, as many come in and out frequently. Frenger asked that residents be more cautious and aware, but particularly vigilant in locking their doors.

December 4, 2015

Two Men Potentially Facing Armed Robbery Charges After Clerk Jots Down License Plate Number

by Scott Grabel

Recently, two men were arrested after they allegedly robbed a female clerk at the Country Store II in Geneva Township. According to a news report at Mlive.com, the woman was robbed at knifepoint on December 2. When the incident was over, she jotted down the license plate number of the suspects’ vehicle.

The robbery occurred at approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, when a man entered the store and demanded money from the 36-year-old clerk while wielding a knife. She was not harmed, but did give the man an undisclosed amount of cash before he left the store. She went out to the parking lot and wrote down the license plate of a car she thought was suspect.

After reporting the license plate number to police, officers from Midland and Coleman assisted in locating the two men who were involved, identified them, and arrested them. One of the suspects is a 37-year-old Mount Pleasant man, the other a 19-year-old Midland man. Police said the Bay County Sheriff’s Dept. assisted in arresting the Mount Pleasant man. Both were taken into custody; police have recommended they be charged with armed robbery.

October 16, 2015

Customer at Auburn Hills Home Depot Shoots Out Tire of Shoplifters’ Getaway Car

by Scott Grabel

On Tuesday, October 6, two men were allegedly shoplifting at a Home Depot in Auburn Hills when a customer who was permitted to carry a concealed firearm shot out a tire of the men’s getaway vehicle, a Kia SUV. While the woman had not been charged with a crime at the time of news reports, the two men had been taken into custody. According to Mlive.com, it is likely the men will be charged with first-degree felony retail fraud.

On Friday, October 9, Auburn Police Lt. Jill McDonnell announced the two were in custody. While the men were not named, it is known they are both from the Flint area, and are 52 and 46 years old. On Wednesday, police released surveillance video which helped them locate the getaway vehicle at the home of the 46-year-old suspect.

An updated news report at The Oakland Press revealed on October 13 that the 46-year-old woman who fired at the suspects’ vehicle in the parking lot, Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, has now been arrested and charged with misdemeanor reckless use, handing, or discharge of a firearm. If found guilty, she could face a fine and/or up to 90 days in jail.

September 25, 2015

Two Elderly Women Carjacked by Redford Man at Motor City Casino

by Scott Grabel

On September 17, two women, both grandmothers, were carjacked at Detroit’s Motor City Casino according to a recent article at Mlive.com. The women, one from Sterling Heights and one from Clinton Township, were 68 and 78 years old respectively. Their names were not mentioned in the news article.

The suspect, 49-year-old Wayne Darrell Jones, was arrested on September 21. The Wayne County Prosecutors Office said in a statement on the day Jones was arrested that he got into the vehicle with the two victims at about 5:30 a.m. on the day of the crime, pulled out a hand gun, took the women’s purses, and demanded money. He then ordered the younger of the two women to drive the car; when they reached the area of Appoline Street and Schoolcraft where a field was located, he forced the two victims out of the car and drove away. Police claim the victims were helped by a good Samaritan after walking two miles.

Jones was arrested and charged with two counts each of armed robbery, carjacking, felony firearm possession, and unlawful imprisonment. At his arraignment hearing on the 21st, bond was set at $100,000.

August 20, 2015

Police Arrest Suspect They Believe Responsible for 14 or More Arson Fires in Saginaw

by Scott Grabel

For months, someone has been setting fire to abandoned homes in Saginaw; now, police believe they have their man, although his name cannot be released pending his arraignment. News reports do indicate the suspect is 49 years old, and police along with residents are relieved to get the man police are calling a “serial arsonist” off the streets.

Following police interviews with the suspect, Michigan State Police Lt. David Kaiser said the man is responsible for at least 14 of the fires that have occurred in recent months. He also said that the interviews did not reveal why the man set the fires, and no motive can be determined.

How did police catch the suspect? According to Kaiser, police set up on various homes in Saginaw on Tuesday the 18th anticipating the man would return to the scene of the crimes. Police were in luck; the suspect did return to a house that had been set on fire in the past. He was holding a cup police believed was filled with accelerant. Police say he struck again, and police confronted the man as he was walking away from the scene. The suspect dropped the cup, and police took him into custody. Meanwhile, the home the suspect had returned to had a porch that was noticed to be in flames by other officers.

December 19, 2014

Jenison Contractor to Spend Minimum of Three Years in Prison for Larceny by Conversion

by Scott Grabel

In October of this year, 32-year-old Jeffery Scott TenElshof of Jenison pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny by conversion of more than $1,000 but less than $20,000. On Thursday December 18, he unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw his guilty pleas at his sentencing hearing before Kent County Circuit Court Judge Mark Trusock.

TenElshof was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for taking money for construction projects, but never completing the jobs. Hi attorney contends that TenElshof simply got behind on the projects as he was extremely busy, and that his intention was never to steal the money clients paid him. One Sand Lake resident paid TenElshof $3,500 to replace some siding on her home, a project that was never completed, according to Colleen Bent, who said TenElshof came up with all kinds of excuses as to why he was not working on the project.

According to Gregory Boer, Assistant Kent County Prosecutor, TenElshof had a plea deal that would have left him facing less than one year in jail had he repaid the money that he stole to the clients. Because he did not repay any of the money, he was sentenced to prison.

October 17, 2014

FBI Requests Help of Public in Identifying Man Wanted in Michigan Bank Robbery

by Scott Grabel

Recently, the FBI has requested the public’s help in identifying a man who is suspected of robbing a TCF Bank branch in Lathrup. According to a news report at CBS Detroit, the agency is offering a $1,500 reward for information which may lead to the arrest and conviction of the man, who robbed the bank on October 6 just after 10 a.m.

The man, according to reports, is described as a black man who was wearing sunglasses, gloves, dark pants, and a hoodie described as a Champion brand at the time of the robbery. He was also wearing a piece of white tape on his nose. The man implied that he possessed a gun, and demanded that a teller give him money. The amount of money the robber escaped with was not revealed in news reports.

Witnesses said that the car the suspect fled the scene in was an older model vehicle with damage on the front end, possibly a Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable that is white in color with a white passenger-side mirror and dark driver-side mirror. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at 248-557-3600 or the FBI at 313-965-2323.

May 30, 2014

Tale of $10,000 Diamond Ring Theft in Kentwood Difficult to Swallow

by Scott Grabel

On May 16, Devontea Clifford Evans was admiring a $10,000 diamond ring in a Kentwood Zales Jewelry store located in Woodland Mall when according to police, Evans and the ring disappeared. Evans, who is 23 years old, denied having the ring when he was apprehended in the parking lot by mall security guards.

After reviewing video camera footage of the parking lot and mall on which it appeared Evans swallowed the ring, the suspect was taken to the Kent County Jail. After some careful consideration about how corrections officers could retrieve the diamond ring, a search performed on Evans a bit later revealed the ring was in his pants – which led to officers suspecting that the ring may have been hidden in another orifice.

Wherever the ring was ultimately hidden, Evans now faces charges of first-degree retail fraud as a third-felony offender. A resident of Hazel Park, Evans allegedly has a long criminal record in both Detroit and New Jersey, and is wanted on a warrant in Detroit. If tried as a third-felony offender, Evans will face up to 10 years in prison. The prosecutor’s office has offered Evans the opportunity to plea as a second-felony offender, which would decrease prison time to a maximum of 7 1/2 years.

In Michigan, first-degree retail fraud involves the theft of merchandise valued at more than $1,000. Theft can occur not only by an individual physically taking an item, but also by altering the price tag of an item in some way so as not to pay the full price. Theft or retail fraud can also be accomplished by taking a product back for a refund or exchange when it was never paid for initially, and the product still belongs to the store.