One man caught, another still missing after string of Ferndale car thefts

FERNDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - When the news came of a string of car thefts hitting Ferndale was reported, it caught its residents by surprise.

Police estimate a pair of thieves robbed at least 10 cars before law enforcement started catching up with their crimes.

Around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Ferndale police received a call that a crime was taking place in a northern neighborhood in Ferndale. By the time police arrived on scene, the criminal activity was pretty obvious.

"One officer saw two men taking off running through the yard when they saw a police car," said Sgt. Baron Brown of the Ferndale Police Department. "We set up a perimeter and were able to arrest one of those people."

The suspicious activity has led police to believe the thieves were connected to "numerous larcenies" that have happened in the area. With the arrest, police have a renewed emphasis of security for Ferndale residents.

"We suggest they lock their cars at night," Brown said. "Their reason for not doing so is they don't want their windows broken, but it's very rare that windows get broken in crimes like this."

"They don't want - these people that are committing these crimes don't want to steal one thing and have all the lights in the neighborhood turn on because police heard a window break," said Brown.

Police managed to recover some recently-stolen supplies after the arrest - most of it pretty typical. Items like straps, drills and change were all recovered.

Only half the work is done however. Police are looking for any information on the second suspect. If you know anything that could help the department, they ask you give them a call.

As for the people of Ferndale, they're planning to be more vigilant.