By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

WARREN — The man police believe to be involved with 12 armed robberies in Oakland and Macomb counties — including two in Southfield — over the last two weeks was arrested Aug. 5.

Michael Steven Kidd, 55, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in Warren’s 37th District Court Aug. 6 after being charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of receiving and concealing stolen property in one of two Warren incidents in which Kidd is a suspect, according to information released by Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer.

Judge John Chmura set Kidd’s bond at $1 million, cash or surety.

Kidd is expected to face additional charges in other municipalities in coming weeks as investigators review their files.

“We are glad that he has been apprehended before he hurt someone,” Lt. Nick Loussia of the Southfield Police Department said of the suspect who witnesses say was armed with a semi-automatic handgun when carrying out his crimes. “He is obviously being investigated for several armed robberies in our city, and upon completion of the investigation, the information will be forwarded to the (Oakland County) Prosecutor’s Office, and warrants will be sought.”

On July 26, a suspect described as a white male, 40-50 years old, approximately 6 feet tall, weighing 165 pounds and wearing a black T-shirt, a baseball cap and sunglasses, entered a hardware store in the 29000 block of Greenfield Road. He brandished a blue steel revolver and ordered the clerk to open the register. The clerk said she couldn’t, and the man fled empty handed, according to Southfield police.

Four days later, after police say the suspect hit up locations in Royal Oak and Birmingham, the bandit struck again in Southfield, this time making off with an undisclosed amount of cash from a dollar store in the 29000 block of Greenfield.

The suspect reportedly asked the clerk to make change for a dollar, and the clerk told him a purchased must be made in order to do so. The suspect grabbed a pack of Skittles, handed the clerk a dollar bill, and as she opened the register, he pointed the gun at her and demanded all of the money. She complied, and he fled, police said.

The suspect was described as a white male, 50-55 years old, approximately 6 feet 4 inches tall with a dirty appearance, wearing a baseball cap and armed with a semi-automatic handgun.

Over the next several days, a suspect matching these descriptions reportedly struck drugstores in Royal Oak, Clawson, Berkley, Troy, Huntington Woods and Warren.

On July 31, Warren police said a white male matching Kidd’s description robbed a drugstore in the 4200 block of 12 Mile, and on Aug. 5, Kidd was arrested after he reportedly robbed a drugstore in the 32900 block of Ryan. The suspect reportedly approached a clerk to purchase a candy bar, but instead produced a semi-automatic handgun and demanded money. The clerk complied, and the suspect fled the store and left the parking lot in a small black compact vehicle.

The clerk was able to spot the license plate number of the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, which had been reportedly stolen out of Troy, according to Warren police.

Officers checked the area for the suspect and spotted the Cobalt parked and unoccupied in the 30400 block of Dequindre. Detectives and special operations officers set up a surveillance of the vehicle, and approximately an hour later, a white male and white female entered the vehicle and were both arrested.

An Air Soft pistol was confiscated during the arrest, police said.

Kidd is due back in Warren’s 37th District Court at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. He requested a court-appointed attorney at his arraignment, but counsel had not been assigned at press time.

"This guy's a career criminal. He's a repeat offender," Dwyer said. "He's got a record going back to the 1970s. He's got an extensive record for retail fraud, home invasion."