Man Steals From Shelby Twp. Retail Store On Black Friday, Leads Wild Police Chase: Cops

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI — An Oakland County man is in trouble after police said he stole a shopping cart full of items from a Shelby Township retail on Black Friday and led officers on a high-speed chase.

Wellington Inoa, 36, from Pontiac, was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder (10-year felony), possession of methamphetamine (a 10-year felony), third-degree fleeing police (five-year felony), carrying a concealed weapon (a five-year felony), first-degree retail fraud (five-year felony) and assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer (two-year felony), according to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.

Inoa was placed in the county jail with $50,000 cash bond. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 12.

Prosecutors said Inoa walked out of the Marshalls & HomeGoods on Hall Road in Shelby Township with a shopping cart full of merchandise he didn’t pay for.

Officers then found Inoa's pickup truck parked in a nearby Chick-Fil-A drive thru, prosecutors said.

When officers pulled in front of the pickup truck, Inoa backed up over the curb and intentionally rammed a police car as he fled west on Hall Road, prosecutors said.

Inoa was speeding and running red lights until he struck a vehicle on northbound Van Dyke Avenue, prosecutors said.

After the crash, Inoa tried running away from police but was quickly captured and arrested by officers, prosecutors said.

Officers said they found drugs and a machete in the vehicle, as well as merchandise spilled all over the road. No injuries were reported, but numerous vehicles were damaged during the chase, prosecutors said.

"This was a very dangerous situation for our police officers and our community," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said. "This blatant disregard for the law has to stop, or innocent lives will be lost. This situation could have been much worse."