Dearborn
Police follow footprints, arrest alleged thief
Police arrested a 55-year-old Detroit man who was on an apparent theft spree Dec. 19 after following his snowy footprints from one target to the next.
The owner of Smart Buy Electronics, 5466 Schaefer, told police he found the man in his 2000 Cherolet Astro van after going to the rear of the business to see why his car alarm was going off. The owner said the suspect fled upon seeing he’d been spotted. Nothing was stolen from the van.
Police arrived and tracked the man to Rite Aid, 5650 Schaefer. Matching the description given by the Smart Buy owner, officers apprehended the man inside the pharmacy.
Several items from Rite Aid were found in the man’s coat during a pat-down search. He also was found to have outstanding larceny warrants in Redford Township and Pontiac.
Neighbor scares off would-be burglar
Police said a burglary was thwarted in the 3400 block of Merrick when a neighbor scared off the culprit about 5 a.m. Dec. 12.
The neighbor said he was standing on his front porch when he noticed the culprit – described only as a medium-built, 5-foot-7-inch man in dark clothing – pushing an air compressor down the driveway next door. The neighbor said he yelled at the culprit, which caused him to drop the compressor and flee westward.
The owner of the targeted house told police that along with the air compressor, a generator also had been pulled out of the garage, although nothing was missing.
Dearborn Heights
Change unspared in break-in
A Dec. 12 burglary in the 6400 block of Nightingale netted the thief roughly $500 in coins, police said.
The homeowner said she was gone from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and suspects that the culprit entered through a window she leaves unlocked for air circulation. A medium-sized dog inside the house apparently did not deter the intruder, police said, and a sweep for fingerprints came up negative.
Resident helps police apprehend burglar
Police are crediting a resident with helping them arrest a 25-year-old Taylor man for burglary in the 26200 block of Timber Trail about 9:40 a.m. Dec. 4.
The resident called police when he noticed the suspect cutting a hole in a screen at his neighbor’s house. While on the phone with the dispatch operator waiting for police to arrive, the resident said he saw the suspect open the window and enter the neighbor’s house.
Upon arrival, police surrounded the exits – two officers at the back and one at the front. When the officers in the back of the house entered through an unlocked door, they could hear the suspect walking around upstairs.
“Police,” they yelled several times.
Suddenly, the officers heard a window open upstairs. Thinking the suspect was trying to escape, they ran outside, where they found him jumping from the roof. One officer tried to electronically subdue the suspect as he was fleeing, but the stun gun apparently malfunctioned.
The suspect briefly eluded police until the resident who had called stepped into his path, allowing the officer to catch up and make the arrest. In addition to burglary, the man faces charges for resisting arrest and giving false information to a police officer after he provided an alias when he was apprehended.