Mount Clemens

Mount Clemens man nabbed for Chesterfield robbery

By Julie Snyder
C & G Staff Writer

Willis

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP — An 18-year-old Mount Clemens man is facing life in prison for his role in an Oct. 28 armed robbery in neighboring Chesterfield Township.

Alontez Willis was arraigned in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore on Oct. 29, a day after he robbed a man at gunpoint outside the Bed, Bath and Beyond on Waterside in Chesterfield Township.

According to the victim, a 19-year-old from Warren, he had gotten off a bus at 23 Mile Road and Gratiot at 8 a.m. and was followed by Willis, who was also riding the bus.

Chesterfield Police said Willis trailed the victim along a side street, and just as the victim approached the Bed, Bath and Beyond store where he works, Willis tapped him on the shoulder and asked him for a cigarette.

The report states that after the victim gave Willis a cigarette, Willis pulled a silver handgun out of his pocket and held it to his temple while ordering him to empty his pockets onto the ground. The victim stated that he offered no resistance and laid his wallet and cellphone on the ground. The suspect then fled with the wallet and phone toward the front of the nearby Kohl’s, where the victim lost sight of him.

As multiple Chesterfield Township Police patrol units converged on the area, officer Duane VanAcker saw the suspect emerge from within a row of bushes in front of Schaller Corp. on Gratiot. The suspect attempted to hail a southbound Gratiot bus, but he began to flee on foot at the sight of the approaching police car.

VanAcker broadcast the direction and description of the fleeing suspect, and responding officers set up a perimeter to box him in. With the perimeter set, officer Tim Kelly found the suspect hiding in a Dumpster behind another business.

Police took the suspect into custody after ordering him out from the Dumpster, where they retrieved a loaded .22 caliber revolver and the victim’s cellphone. While being interviewed by a detective at the police department, Willis disclosed the location of the victim’s wallet. Officers returned and recovered the wallet from the described location.

Willis was charged with armed robbery, a life felony; felony firearm, a two-year mandatory felony; and possession of a stolen firearm, a 10-year felony. His bond was set at $200,000 cash.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Julie Snyder at jsnyder@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1039.