Criminals call in fake report at Oakland mall, smash and grab at Somerset

TROY, Mich. (WJBK) - It has all the makings of an action movie: bogus 911 call, brazen jewelry heist, and a police chase. But, just like in Hollywood, the good guys won.

Somerset Collection on Big Beaver in Troy is a premiere shopping destination. This week, it was targeted by thieves who had their eyes on expensive watches and were willing to go to great lengths to get them: they used a sledge hammer.

"He's sledge hammering the Cartier. Oh ok so it was a smash and grab. He was sure smashing and everyone ran out."

Police say before the smash and grab ever happened they got a 911 call. The caller said they were at Oakland Mall, the other side of Troy and there were shots being fired so obviously police responded in full force. When they got there, they didn't find anything happening.

They said the call was fake.

"When you listen to it you know there is something wrong with what he's saying," Troy Police Captain Bob Redmond said.

As the dispatcher tries to get more info, things don't add up. Here's part of the transcript:

Dispatcher: "You heard it but you didn't see it?"
Caller: "I wasn't trying to look."
Dispatcher: "Did you see what he looks like?"
Caller: "He had on a brown shirt black pants."

Redmond said the call was meant to distract from the real crime that took place a few minutes later.

"Clearly the original call was a setup for the event to take place at Somerset," Redmond said.

Just ten minutes after the call, this dispatch was put out:

"Troy cars be advised we just had a smash and grab at Sak on Big Beaver. "One guy removed a sledgehammer from his pants and started swinging."

A security guard tried to put a stop to it but the suspects fought him off.

"He's got a bruised arm but he's fine thankfully sledgehammers hurt," Redmond said.

This wasn't the first smash and grab this week, Redmond said.

"There was an attempt a few days ago at Somerset where good security scared them away acted quickly and prevented the crime from occurring," he said.

Not only that, a month ago another crime was caught on camera at the Omega Store. Police say they arrested those responsible and say they are not related.

The diversion didn't work. Police caught up to the alleged criminals and arrested five. They wound up releasing two of them after determining they had nothing to do with the crime.