The Waterford Police Department said that a brother and sister were detained in a series of parking lot robberies in Southeast Michigan.
A Special Operations Unit consisting of Waterford and White Lake Township detectives arrested the two individuals at 10 p.m. on Thursday. They are suspected of carrying out unarmed robberies in retail parking lots in Commerce Township, Auburn Hills, and, most recently, White Lake Township.
The third incident occurred on Wednesday, according to a White Lake Township Police report. A 79-year-old woman was seen at a retail store parking lot on Town Center Boulevard around 7 p.m. A car came up next to her, and the passenger disembarked to seize her purse. The victim suffered minor injuries.
The vehicle then drove away eastbound along Highland Road.
Both police departments stated that an attempt was made to apprehend the offender, but it was shortly called off.
“The suspects used force on at least two occasions to steal purses from female victims,” the Waterford police report said. “While these victims may have sustained minor injuries, it could have been much worse. We have no way of knowing how far these suspects would have gone or to what extent the violence would have escalated had we not been able to halt this string of robberies.”
Detectives set up surveillance and found the two at two different locations.
The 21-year-old woman was detained without incident.
Her 20-year-old brother escaped the house where he was discovered, fleeing through many backyards before hiding behind a garage. Detectives tracked him down and arrested him.
“It’s kind of sad in a way that you have to be reminded of these things as a woman,” said Marisa Marold.”
“Usually, I don’t take my purse with me. I take just my credit card and package, but today, I think not to leave my purse in my car because who knows what is going to happen,” said one woman who asked to remain anonymous.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has charged both with unarmed robbery and larceny in the Commerce Township and Auburn Hills incidents, according to the police report. Detectives are writing a report on the White Lake Township incident.
Detectives from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office/Commerce Township substation, Auburn Hills Police, Oakland County Auto Theft (OCAT), the South Oakland Narcotics Intelligence Consortium (SONIC), and the FBI all participated in this investigation.