Brother and sister arrested for string of Oakland County purse snatchings
WHITE LAKE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A brother and sister are both jailed after police say they robbed multiple people in the parking lots of Oakland County stores.
The suspects, who have not been named by police, are now facing charges of unarmed robbery and larceny for two of the alleged crimes, while a third robbery is under investigation.
The backstory:
According to the Waterford Police Department, the duo would steal purses from women in parking lots in Commerce Township, Auburn Hills, and White Lake Township. Force was used during at least two of the robberies, police said.
The most recent robbery happened Wednesday in White Lake as police were working to locate the suspects near a Marshalls on Town Center Boulevard. Police said they spotted the suspects' vehicle and a short chase began but was quickly terminated.
A special operations unit made up of Waterford and White Lake police detectives then set up surveillance at several locations in an attempt to catch the 20-year-old man and 21-year-old woman. The suspects were located at two homes on Thursday, police said. The woman was arrested without incident, while the man fled, ran through several yards, and was found hiding behind a garage, police said.
According to police, the man is currently on parole for the same crime he was just arrested for.
Dig deeper:
Police said charges have been issued for the crimes in Commerce Township and Auburn Hills.
When detectives are done investigating the White Lake robbery, they will seek charges in that case, too.
What they're saying:
"While these victims may have sustained minor injuries, it could have been much worse. We have no way of knowing how far these suspects would have gone or to what extent the violence would have escalated had we not been able to halt this string of robberies," Waterford Police Chief Scott Underwood wrote in a press release.
The Source: This information is from a Waterford police press release.