Grosse Pointe Shores

Armed robbery suspects nabbed in Shores

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

A trio of men suspected in the armed robbery of a Sunoco gas station at 10 Mile and Gratiot in Eastpointe were apprehended shortly thereafter during a police chase that ended at Lake Shore and Vernier in Grosse Pointe Shores at 12:17 a.m. Sept. 20.

According to a police report, Harper Woods Police alerted the Shores Public Safety Department that a police chase was headed their way, with Eastpointe officers pursuing the suspects, who allegedly used a gun in the robbery. Shores officers set up a spike strip, and one of the Shores officers moved his vehicle to block the Lake Shore/Vernier intersection.

The report indicated that the suspects’ vehicle, a tan Chevrolet Cavalier, lost control after running over the spike strip, hitting the curb and a tree in the intersection. In an email, Shores Public Safety Director John Schulte said the spike strips deflated both front tires of the car.

Police said the driver got out of the vehicle and began running toward nearby Osius Park on Lake St. Clair, while the other two suspects remained inside the vehicle. Eastpointe and Shores officers arrested the two men in the vehicle, and other officers grabbed the driver as he reportedly was trying to climb over the fence into the park.

Police said the driver’s jeans got caught on the fence and they had to free him. They also said the driver had tossed cash and a wallet over the fence and inside Osius Park, which police recovered. Schulte said the cash was stolen during the robbery. The driver was searched and arrested, police said.

The report stated that police found a Glock semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle during a search; this is the weapon police said they believe was used in the robbery.

Shores officers assisted their Eastpointe peers in blocking traffic to look for additional evidence or weapons that might have been discarded by the suspects, and Shores officers then cleared the scene.

Schulte praised the work of the officers from both departments.

“This incident and the arrest of these three dangerous felons demonstrated great teamwork,” Schulte said by email.

Shores Detective Sgt. Scott Rohr said the spike strips aren’t deployed often, but in cases like this one, they can be invaluable tools.

“(The equipment) worked the way it’s supposed to,” he said. “A successful stop of a fleeing felon without injury to the officers or the suspects, or the public at large, is (the best possible outcome).”
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.