Northville City Police Seek Warrant for Suspect in Car Break-ins

Northville city police plan to seek an arrest warrant in the case of a 36-year-old Southfield man accused of stealing from two vehicles in August.

According to police reports, the man has a history of vehicle break-ins.

On Aug. 28, the man is accused of breaking into a woman’s SUV while it was parked in the lot behind Cooke School for a sporting event. On parking lot surveillance video, he can be seen driving back and forth on camera pulling up next to various vehicles before stopping next to the woman’s SUV. Then, the man in the video rummages through items in his car when others walk by his van. When he slips into the woman’s SUV, he sits in the driver’s seat for a moment before stealing her purse.

According to a police report, shortly before the incident, the same man can be seen on a surveillance video at a gas station on Eight Mile and Taft roads using a credit card, which was stolen the day before from a car near Ford Field. The woman who owned the car in that case told police that around 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 27, she left her purse in the back seat of her car while she went for a run. Her car may have been unlocked, according to police reports. When she returned home, she noticed that her purse was also missing.

An anonymous woman, according to the police report, turned in one of the purses to Southfield police. She told them that she found the purse in Detroit. When the purse’s owner retrieved it, she was able to determine that everything but a small amount of cash was still inside.

According to the police report, to be presented to the Oakland County prosecutor, a segment about the thefts aired on WXYZ-TV, Channel 7 which prompted calls to the police station with tips. Police were able to determine his identity and where he lived. After investigation, the police made contact with the suspect’s family and garnered enough evidence to seek a warrant, according to the report.