Men Charged In Thefts From Metro Detroit Cell Phone Stores
ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - Two men are facing charges in connection with a series of thefts from Detroit-area cell phone stores.
Christopher Saunders, 27, Lamont Travis, 22, both of Detroit, were arraigned Monday in 39th District Court on a variety of felony charges, not just out of Roseville but throughout the metro Detroit area.
According to police, officers were dispatched to Radio Shack, located in the Eastgate Shopping Center in Roseville, around 7:30 a.m. Monday after the store's alarm company reported a break-in, in progress. While en route to Radio Shack, officers were advised that four suspects had now fled the store and were now traveling eastbound on I-94 with two suspects in a grey Volkswagen and two in a tan Trail Blazer.
Responding officers were able to catch up to the two vehicles near 7 Mile Road and Van Dyke Street, were the two vehicles split up and fled at a high rate of speed. Officers pursued the Volkswagen for several blocks, before calling off the pursuit for safety reasons.
Police say several witnesses who saw the pursuit contacted the Detroit Police Department shortly thereafter and advised that the two suspects who had been in the Volkswagen had parked the vehicle, and were now attempting to gain entry to a home on Carrie Street.
Police say they responded to the home and found Saunders and Travis, who both fled on foot. Officers chased the two and eventually found them hiding inside a locked yard of a local business. They were arrested without further incident.
Police say officers then returned to Carrie Street where the Volkswagon was parked, where they found approximately 50 cell phones and a cash drawer, all of which had been stolen from the Radio Shack store were recovered from inside the vehicle.
Police believe Saunders and Travis, along with the other two suspect that were able to escape capture, are part of a large-scale theft ring that has been operating in the southeast Michigan area targeting cell phone stores.
Saunders and Travis have been charged with safe breaking (up to life felony), breaking and entering a building with intent (10-year felony), possession of burglar tools (10-year felony), and assaulting and resisting a police officer (two-year felony).
