Police arrest 6in smash-and-grab robberies in Michigan, Ohio

Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read
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Six suspects are in police custody in connection with a string of smash-and-grab robberies at jewelry stores in Michigan and Ohio.

Troy police announced the move Thursday, the work of several metro Detroit law enforcement teams to apprehend the suspects.

The robberies targeted several jewelry businesses, with police reporting six total robberies in Michigan and Ohio. The group used rental vehicles and a stolen vehicle in the crimes, police said.

Police allege three suspects did a smash-and-grab robbery at Helzberg Diamonds at Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Auburn Hills on Jan. 13, stealing thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry.

Police identified a suspect vehicle, which was a rental. They identified who rented the vehicle before it was returned and a new vehicle was rented.

Then, Kay Jewelers at Lansing Mall in Lansing reported a smash-and-grab robbery to the Troy Special Investigations Unit on Jan. 22, with police determining the suspects to be from the same group. The Eaton County Sheriff's Office then found that the newly rented vehicle was the getaway vehicle in this incident.

Police located and surveilled the new rental vehicle on Jan. 24, as the suspects traveled to Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, where four suspects entered the mall around 2 p.m. and robbed a Sparkles Jewelry store, police said. The rental vehicle and a second vehicle stolen from Harper Woods on Jan. 16 circled the mall parking lot before the theft, with two suspects remaining outside.

The three suspects in the Auburn Hills robbery and four suspects in the Sterling Heights robbery were Black males wearing hoodies and surgical masks, police said.

In the Lakeside Mall theft, the four suspects fled on foot with the stolen jewelry, before police apprehended them. Police arrested all six suspects, recovering $170,000 worth of stolen jewelry from the Sparkles Jewelry store.

Law enforcement from Sterling Heights police, Shelby Township police, and Troy police directed patrol officers to respond to the Lakeside Mall incident. Troy police credits the Troy Special Investigations Unit — a coalition of Auburn Hills police, Birmingham police, Bloomfield Township police, Royal Oak police and Troy police — with solving these robbery cases.

Police sent the six suspects to the Macomb County Jail following their arrests.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Troy police arrest 6, recover goods in smash-and-grab thefts