Passerby Helps Elderly Man Take Back Vehicle From Alleged Carjacker
ROMEO (WWJ) -- A man was arrested after allegedly stealing a pickup truck from an elderly man at Macomb Orchard Trail on Sunday.
Michael Garrett, 30, of Pontiac was arraigned Monday on charges of carjacking and resisting and obstructing arrest. He is also a parole absconder from the Oakland-Pontiac Parole Office.
At around 11 a.m. Sunday, a 78-year-old Washington Township man pulled into a parking area at the entrance to the Macomb Orchard Trail and got out to walk the trail.
He was approached by a man who asked him if he had any money, saying that he was "stranded." The elderly man told him that he did not have any money and he began to walk northbound on the trail, with the younger man walking alongside.
The elderly man then turned around to head back to his vehicle. The younger man pulled a folding knife from his waistband and demanded money from him.
The victim told the assailant again that he had no money, but eventually gave up his car keys and cell phone. The assailant fled the area, dropping his knife as he left. He loaded a bicycle into the back of the victim's 2014 Ford F-150 pickup and drove from the scene.
The elderly man flagged down a passerby -- a 46-year-old Washington Township woman -- and told her what happened. The woman took the victim into her vehicle and began to follow the stolen truck. They located the man's truck parked at the end of Wallington Street, with the assailant standing alongside.
The woman confronted the assailant and he handed the keys and cell phone back.
The assailant removed the bicycle from the back of the truck and walked the bicycle away from the scene and towards the Macomb Orchard Trail.
A foot-chase -- and later an arrest -- ensued after police searched and found the suspect running from the rear of a residence on Wallington.
Garrett remains in the Macomb County Jail.