Brother, sister arrested in series of parking lot robberies in Metro Detroit
A brother and sister have been arrested in a series of parking lot robberies in Southeast Michigan, the Waterford Police Department reported.
The arrests of the two adults took place about 10 p.m. Thursday with a Special Operations Unit that included detectives from Waterford and White Lake Township. They are suspects in unarmed robberies in retail store parking lots in Commerce Township, Auburn Hills and most recently in White Lake Township.
The third incident happened Wednesday, according to a report from White Lake Township police. A 79-year-old woman was in a retail store parking lot about 7 p.m. on Town Center Boulevard. A vehicle pulled up beside her, the passenger exited the vehicle and grabbed her purse. The victim had minor injuries.
The vehicle then drove off eastbound on Highland Road
Both police departments said there was an attempt to stop the suspect, but quickly called it 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 were able to find the two at two separate locations.
The 21-year-old woman was arrested without incident.
Her 20-year-old brother fled the home where he was found, running through several backyards before hiding behind a garage. Detectives finally found him and placed him under arrest.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office is charging both with unarmed robbery and larceny in the Commerce Township and Auburn Hills incident, the police report said. Detectives are preparing their report on the White Lake Township incident.
Agencies that assisted in this investigation included 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.
