Marine Reservists Charged In Summertime Armed Robbery At 7-Eleven
MT. CLEMENS (WWJ) - Two men accused of stealing cash and cigarettes from a local 7-Eleven store in the middle of the night last June have finally been charged in the case.
Twenty-year-old Mark Taylor, of Clinton Township, and 24-year-old Michael Rentz, of Shelby Township, were arraigned this week on armed robbery charges, which carry a potential sentence of life behind bars. Taylor was released after posting a $20,000 cash bond, while Rentz remains jailed on a $300,000 cash bond.
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said Taylor and Rentz were arrested on Tuesday after a seven-month investigation. The men, described as Marine Reservists, are accused of robbing the 7-Eleven store on the corner of 22 Mile and Romeo Plank roads in Macomb just before 4 a.m. on June 20, 2014.
"Our investigation continued and we were able to get some tips which led us to these two individuals -- at which point we brought them in," Wickersham told WWJ's Chris Renwick. "They made admissions of their involvement."
According to police, Taylor and Rentz -- concealing their faces behind masks and sunglasses -- entered the store and approached the clerk. Taylor brandished an assault rifle, while Rentz wielded a handgun, police said.
One of the men handed a clerk a grocery bag and instructed him to put the money from the cash register into the bag, while the other took several packs of Marlboro menthol cigarettes. Police say the crooks fled the scene on foot with approximately $80 or $100 in cash.
A Sheriff's K-9 tracked the two to the parking lot of an adjacent business where it appeared that they entered a vehicle and drove away from the scene.
Both men are due back in court on Feb. 5.
