Suspects Lead Police Chase After Stealing From Home Depot
COMMERCE TWP. (WWJ) - A group of people who stole merchandise from Home Depot were arrested after leading deputies on a police chase through Oakland County.
Police say they responded to the Home Depot store in the 400 block of Haggerty Road in Commerce Township around 12:45 p.m. Friday on a report of a theft in progress. The 911 call was placed by an eye-witness who followed the crooks as they exited the store and began travelling northbound on Haggerty Road.
A deputy located the suspects' vehicle near the intersection of Haggerty and Walnut Lake roads, and activated his overhead lights and siren in an attempt to stop the vehicle after it turned onto Pontiac Trail.
Police say the suspects continued to travel westbound on Pontiac Trail at approximately 25 mph and entered the roundabout at M-5. When the vehicle exited the roundabout, police say the driver accelerated to approximately 45 mph.
The car continued westbound on Pontiac Trail and passed traffic stopped at the intersection of Decker, driving left of center. The suspects' vehicle then collided with another vehicle that was attempting to turn left onto eastbound Pontiac Trail from Decker.
As a result of the collision, the suspects' vehicle spun out of control and came to a stop just west of the intersection. The deputy pulled up at an angle near the front of the vehicle in an attempt to prevent the vehicle from continuing to flee.
Police say at that time, the driver then began to drive away from the scene, resulting in a collision with the fully marked sheriff's patrol car. After the collision, all three of the suspects exited the vehicle and fled from the scene on foot.
The deputy began a foot pursuit and caught the driver, who was taken into custody. Other deputies arrived on scene and took the other two suspects into custody after chasing them for a short distance.
The female suspect was taken to Huron Valley Hospital, due to a complaint of her side hurting, before being taken to the police station for an interview.
Police say the stolen merchandise -- which included chainsaws, battery packs and assorted tools -- was recovered and is currently being itemized.
All three suspects -- a 41-year-old Redford Township man, 41-year-old Detroit man and 34-year-old Detroit woman -- were lodged at the Oakland County Jail after their police interviews. Warrants are pending.
Police say all of the suspects have a history with law enforcement: The Redford man is a parole absconder wanted by the Michigan Department of Corrections, and both the Detroit man and woman have several traffic warrants out of Detroit.
An investigation is ongoing.
