Juveniles arrested in string of larcenies from vehicles in Grosse Pointes

GROSSE POINTES — A group of teenage suspects has been arrested after the teens reportedly committed more than a dozen larcenies from unlocked autos in Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe City over a period of a couple of days.

Grosse Pointe City Detective Michael Narduzzi said police arrested five suspects from Detroit — all between the ages of 14 and 17 — in the early morning hours of Dec. 6. The suspects — who are said by police to have started the larceny spree between the night of Dec. 3 and the early morning hours of Dec. 4 — were apprehended after police, fielding tips from residents, pursued them as they fled along Jefferson Avenue/Lake Shore Road into Grosse Pointe Shores, where they crashed their vehicle in the area of Lochmoor and Lake Shore roads at around 1:02 a.m. Dec. 6, bailed out of the vehicle and fled on foot.

“This particular crew — they were going around in one of their mother’s cars,” Narduzzi said.

Narduzzi said one of Grosse Pointe City’s “very astute” public safety officers — officer Jacob Gentile — spotted a vehicle matching the description police had from a witness who had just seen the youths rifling through a vehicle. He said Gentile attempted to pull over the vehicle in the area of Mack Avenue and University Place, but the suspects sped off.

All five Grosse Pointe public safety departments and Harper Woods leapt into action, setting up a perimeter after the crash and working to round up the suspects as they tried to scatter into the neighborhoods.

“They left the roadway and ended up on the front lawn” of a home on Lochmoor, said Grosse Pointe Shores Public Safety Department Director Kenneth Werenski.

“There were no injuries” as a result of the crash, Werenski continued. “Everybody got out and ran.”

Werenski said three of the five suspects were taken into custody almost immediately, but it took another couple of hours to locate the remaining two. He said those suspects started banging on the door of a home on Sheldon Road at around 3:01 a.m. Dec. 6. Werenski said the teens told the homeowner they needed directions because they had gotten into a fight with their girlfriends and left them. The homeowner called the Public Safety Department, and Werenski said officers immediately thought the story was suspicious because of the condition in which they found the suspects.

“They had grass and brush embedded in their hair,” Werenski said of the suspects, who police believe had been darting between yards to evade capture. “They looked disheveled.”

Werenski said these suspects are not believed to have committed any crimes in the Shores.

Public safety officials say teamwork — along with immediate phone calls from witnesses — enabled them to end the spree of this particular crew.

“The final apprehension of these individuals is a good example of how our mutual aid pact works during critical incidences,” Werenski said.

Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Department Director John Hutchins said the crew committed at least 14 larcenies from vehicles in the Farms on multiple streets, including Touraine, Merriweather, Mount Vernon, Ridge, Belanger and Hillcrest roads.

Besides sending in officers, the Farms also activated its drone, which helped police find some of the suspects.

Narduzzi said the suspects, upon arrest, confessed to their alleged involvement in the incidents in the Farms and City that took place between Dec. 3 and Dec. 6; in the City, the suspects are said to have committed larcenies from autos in the 17000 block of St. Paul Street at around 12:10 a.m. Dec. 6 and in the 500 block of Neff Road and 700 block of Richard Boulevard between the night of Dec. 3 and early morning hours of Dec. 4.

Narduzzi said police were able to recover many of the stolen items, including cash, an iPad, AirPods and identification.

In all these larcenies, he said, vehicles were unlocked.

“It’s so important for people to lock their cars,” Narduzzi said. “If you lock your doors, 99% of the time you will have no problems.”

Werenski echoed that sentiment.

“These are crimes of opportunity,” Werenski said. “It’s a quick hit. They don’t want to be seen. They don’t want to be heard.”

In some recent cases in the Pointes, victims have left key fobs in unlocked vehicles, enabling suspects to steal the vehicles themselves.

Werenski said crime always increases a bit in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“People are desperate,” Werenski said.

Besides locking vehicles and not leaving key fobs inside, residents are urged to not leave valuables like purses, briefcases, wallets or cellphones inside their vehicles.

The five suspects arrested are expected to face charges including larceny from auto and fleeing and eluding.