Bloomfield Township Detective Goes Undercover to Help Catch Thief Via Craigslist

A 19-year-old Troy man was arrested Tuesday afternoon in connection with a wallet stolen Nov. 23 from car in Birmingham that he later tried to sell on Craigslist.

According to police reports, the Kate Spade wallet was taken overnight Nov. 23 from an unlocked car parked on Westwood. The wallet's owner later found the wallet for sale on Craigslist and contacted police, saying she believed it was her property.

A detective contacted the seller, stating that he wanted to purchase the wallet for his wife, police reports state. A meeting was set up in a parking lot at Maple and Telegraph, at which a female detective from Bloomfield Township posed as the Birmingham detective's wife. When the man arrived, police believe he suspected them to be police, and he fled the area.

Assisting officers stopped the man near Maple and Gilbert Lake Road, where he was taken into custody without incident. Detectives later determined the man had used two stolen credit cards at a Bloomfield Township gas station, one of which belonged to the woman whose wallet was stolen. The man was identified using the credit card by the gas station surveillance cameras.

The man was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property under $1,000 and unlawful use of a financial transaction device.