Dearborn Arrest May Clear Several Downriver Cases

The arrest of a Romulus man in Dearborn Wednesday may help police in several jurisdictions clear up cases.

Juan Nehzeh Simmons, 33, was arrested after Dearborn police received reports from alert neighbors who reported a having seen the suspect enter several unlocked vehicles in an apparent attempt to steal items inside them, according to a news release.

Simmons was armed with a knife when he was arrested, police said.

Police agencies in a half-dozen area communities – Hamtramck, Inkster, Plymouth, Romulus, Westland and Wayne County – had outstanding warrants for Simmons’ arrest.

Simmons was armed with a knife when arrested, police said, and was charged with unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and violation of the city’s knife ordinance.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said people seen committing minor, non-violent crimes often have a lengthy history of more serious offenses in the region.

“This is why it is important that we partner with other agencies and neighborhood groups to create a synergy that will be more effective in reducing crime than the efforts of many groups acting separately,” he said.

Simmons has a long rap sheet, police said, with arrests on charges of unarmed robbery, retail fraud, malicious destruction of property, drunken driving, felony larceny from a vehicle, assaulting/resisting police and failure to pay child support.

Simmons pleaded guilty to the new charges in Dearborn’s 19th District Court, and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Haddad said Simmons’ arrest should serve as a reminder to residents to lock their vehicles and refrain from leaving valuable items in places where they will be visible.

“This perpetrator and others who operate in the same manner often do not break into cars but merely take advantage of the easy opportunity that an unlocked vehicle offers,” Haddad said.

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Photo: Dearborn Police