Thieves Shake Down Teens at Bus Stop, Return Property: Police

This story has been updated.

A trio of thieves allegedly shook down and robbed three teenagers Thursday morning as they waited at Farmington Hills school bus stop, and then returned part of what they’d stolen, police said.

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Three teenagers were waiting for the school bus around 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the area of Sedalia Avenue and Ontaga Street when two suspects pulled up, exited their vehicle and demanded wallets and valuables from the teens, according to a statement from the Farmington Hills Police Department.

The suspects allegedly ripped two backpacks from the backs of two of the teens before fleeing the area, but then they returned with the backpacks to one of the victims, who waited at the scene to talk to police. The parents of two other teens in the robbery took their children home.

Farmington Hills Investigative Lt. Paul Nicholas told Patch he can’t speculate on what motivated the alleged thieves to return the backpacks. Nothing was reported from the backpacks, which he assumed contained books and school supplies.

“Who knows what the thought process was there?” Nicholas said. “It certainly is an usual circumstances for someone to grab someone’s property and return it.”

The victims provided police with a description of the suspects’ vehicle, a red Pontiac Grand Prix, which a Farmington Hills school liaison officer spotted while the suspects were getting fuel at a Sunoco gas station at Grand River Avenue and Inkster Road, according to the statement.

Other officers responded, and the suspects — a 20-year-old male from Farmington Hills, a 21-year-old man from Redford Township and a 20-year-old female from Westland — were taken into custody. They could face a range of charges, Nicholas said, but that decision rests with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office

Nicholas said the incident “certainly was unnerving” for both the parents and teens, but he emphasized the suspects are in custody and checks with surrounding jurisdictions indicate the incident was “an isolated event.”

“There’s no further danger,” Nicholas said.