Teens go on robbery spree

By Charles Sercombe

Four teen suspects are believed to be behind a crime spree on a recent Friday.

The incidents occurred on Aug. 14 at 6:30 p.m. when one of the suspects approached a 75-year-old man getting an item out of his car parked on Caniff just east of Conant.

The suspect had his hand wrapped with a material to indicate that he had a gun. The elderly man was robbed of his wallet, and the suspect was last seen getting into a waiting Chrysler 300.

An hour later, police received a report of a purse snatching at Bozek’s Market. When police arrived, however, no victim was present. But, there was a 19-year-old man sitting in a car in the parking lot and he told police he was approached by a similar looking suspect.

The suspect took the man’s cell phone and was last seen getting into a Chrysler. Soon after, a police officer noticed the car and attempted to pull it over.

The driver took off and a wild chase ensued, which included traveling against traffic on I-75. The speeding Chrysler eventually got off the freeway and then jumped the I-75 embankment at Nevada.

Three of the four suspects were caught. The suspects were 14, 15 and 16 years old and were held in a county juvenile jail. (They were released last week pending charges.)

The Chrysler they were driving was stolen in an armed carjacking incident a few days earlier.
Charges are pending a photo line-up, said Detective Derek Suwolkowski.