Police Search For 3rd Suspect In Toy Gun Robbery Spree
FERNDALE (WWJ) - Police are searching for a third suspect wanted in a series of violent crimes across Metro Detroit — all carried out with the aid of a toy gun.
Police say 24-year-old Taurus Richardson is wanted in connection with a carjacking in Detroit, a home invasion in Oak Park and an armed robbery of a 7-Eleven store in Ferndale.
According to police, Richardson and two other suspects broke into a home in the 14000 block of Lincoln early Monday morning and beat the 75-year-old homeowner and his 70-year-old wife before ransacking the place.
Shortly thereafter, around 3 a.m., two of the suspects entered the 7-Eleven at 9 Mile Road and Pincrest Drive in Ferndale and announced a holdup.
Police say the suspects robbed the clerk at gunpoint, took money from the cash register and the safe, and also took lottery tickets and cigarettes. The suspects left the store after the robbery, entered a waiting vehicle driven by the third suspect and fled the scene.
After the crooks left the area, the store clerk was able to call police and give a description of the suspects and their vehicle.
A responding Ferndale police officer observed a vehicle matching the description at 8 Mile Road and Livernois Street, and followed it until a second police car arrived. Once the officers turned on their sirens, police say the suspect vehicle fled, but eventually crashed into a light pole a short distance later.
All three suspects fled on foot, two of which were captured -- 26-year-old Gerald Turner and 18-year-old Jalen Turner.
After making the arrests, police learned the suspects' vehicle was reported stolen in a carjacking incident in Detroit. Police also learned the suspects' weapon was actually a toy gun.
Police say the elderly male victim is hospitalized with minor injuries. Items stolen from the man's house were recovered in the stolen vehicle, according to police.
Richardson remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous. A reward of $1,000 is being offered for any information that leads to Richardson's whereabouts.
Anybody with information should contact Ferndale police at 248-541-3650, Oak Park police at 248-691-7520 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
