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BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Four suspects were arrested after reportedly breaking into a home in Bloomfield Township and fleeing police, leading to a high speed chase Sept. 19.
The Bloomfield Township Police Department responded to a home in the 200 block of Harrow Circle at approximately 11:20 a.m. Sept. 19 for a home invasion that was in progress.
The homeowner, who was out of the country at the time, saw the suspects on home surveillance cameras and alerted police.
When officers responded to the area, they saw an occupied gold Astro van with an improper license plate parked near an adjoining property. As an officer approached the van, police saw an individual running from the victim’s residence toward the van and ordered the subject to stop, but the commands were ignored. Before entering the van and fleeing the scene, the subject dropped a plastic basket carrying medications that were later determined to belong to the victim.
Police located the van turning onto eastbound Big Beaver Road and attempted to make a traffic stop on the van, which reportedly began traveling at a high rate of speed, crossing into oncoming traffic. Bloomfield Township police then terminated the pursuit “due to the dangerous conditions.”
Shortly after, the Troy Police Department located the vehicle and initiated a pursuit. The van eventually lost control in an industrial park, left the roadway, and came to a stop against a fence.
Inside the van was Emanuel Wesley Stites, Damian Shaun Hackbarth, Elicia Renee Romero, Nathaniel Flavio Gonzales, and an unrestrained 2-year-old girl, who police believe to be the daughter of one of the suspects.
While investigating the vehicle, officers located three firearms — one firearm was listed as “stolen” earlier in the year from Lakewood, Colorado. Police also recovered four key fobs and a purse that were confirmed to have been taken during an earlier home invasion in Bloomfield Township.
A review of the victim’s home surveillance video determined that a suspect went to the front door and knocked to determine if anyone was home. About five minutes later, two other suspects went into the backyard and used a landscape block to smash open one of the doors.
All four suspects were arraigned on Sept. 22, at the 48th District Court and are lodged at the Oakland County Jail. Romero is being held on a $100,000 cash/surety bond. Stites is being held on a $250,000 cash/surety bond. Gonzales is being held on a $300,000 cash/surety bond. Hackbarth is being held on a $100,000 cash/surety bond. Stites, Romero, Gonzalez and Hackbarth did not have an attorney on file at press time.
“The Bloomfield Township Police Department thanks the Troy Police Department for their assistance in this investigation,” Bloomfield Township Police Officer Nick Soley said in a statement. “It is believed that these individuals may have committed several more crimes throughout the Metro-Detroit area.”
If you have any further information on this investigation, contact the Bloomfield Township Police Department at (248) 433-7755.
