Feds: Victims carjacked by men after tracking down juvenile who stole wallet at Detroit park
The carjacked truck was crashed in Detroit a day after it was stolen.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Three people who were carjacked in Detroit on Sunday were tracking down someone who stole a wallet when they returned and found a group of armed suspects surrounding their truck, according to court paperwork.
Investigators say the three victims were playing basketball at a park at Mack and Chrysler around 7:50 p.m. An unknown juvenile stole Victim 1's wallet, which was next to the basketball court as they played.
Victim 1 chased a group of juveniles and caught up with them, while Victims 2 and 3 got into a Ford F-150 and drove to the group to pick up Victim 1.
One of the juveniles who was in the group got into the pickup to help the victims track down the thief. The juvenile directed them to the Brewster apartment complex and called the thief.
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The thief approached the truck, gave $30 to Victim 1, and said he didn't have the wallet because he threw it after taking it, the filing said. Victim 1 asked the thief to show him where he threw it, so the thief walked him to the back of the apartment building. Victims 2 and 3 drove the truck to the area to park.
According to the court filing, while behind the building, several people with guns approached Victim 1 with guns because they perceived that he had kidnapped the juvenile and were angry. Authorities said someone in the group demanded that Victim 1 give them everything he had, so he gave them the $30. The group laughed and returned the money.
As Victim 1 began walking back to the truck, a second group of people was surrounding the truck. Victim 1 got into the truck and told Victim 2 to drive, but a man identified by authorities as Anthony Hopkins, had a gun pointed at Victim 2. Another man, identified by authorities as Kyrell Allen, stood at the passenger side of the truck and pointed a gun at Victim 1.
Authorities say that Hopkins ordered Victim 2 out of the truck. When Victim 2 tried to drive away, Hopkins allegedly told him not to reach for anything and put the barrel of the gun against his thigh. Hopkins pulled Victim 2 by his clothes to get him out of the truck, authorities said.
Hopkins took the keys, told everyone to get out of the truck, and threatened to shoot Victim 3, authorities said.
The three victims got out and walked away, while Hopkins fled in the truck, and Allen left in another vehicle.
The stolen truck, which belongs to Victim 1's father, has tracking capabilities, so Detroit Police Commercial Auto Theft Section members began tracking the truck that day. They found it parked on the city's west side and surveilled it.
Authorities said they saw the truck Monday in the area of Wisconsin and McKenzie, so they followed it to Linwood and Burlingame, then to Riverfront Towers. When a Michigan State Police trooper tried to stop the truck at the apartments, the driver allegedly drove over the median and sped away.
The trooper chased the truck but stopped in the area of Jefferson and I-375. Shortly after the chase was ended, an MSP helicopter saw the truck crash on I-375 near the Larned overpass. A trooper in the helicopter told police that two men fled the truck and provided a description of the suspects.
Read: Carjacking suspects caught after crashing on I-375
According to the court filing, those suspects were Hopkins and Allen. Detroit police found them in the area of 1300 Lafayette and arrested them. A handgun was found near the intersection of Larned and the Chrysler Service Drive.
Kyrell Allen during his arrest (Photo: FBI)
A witness told police that one of the men dropped a gun and the other left a backpack on a fence at Chrysler and Larned before running away, authorities said.
Police said they found that backpack, which had a gun and Victim 1's ID in it.
According to the court filing, security footage showed men inside the truck who were wearing the same clothes as Hopkins and Allen just before the chase.
The suspects in the truck (Photo: FBI)
Authorities said all three victims later separately picked Hopkin's and Allen's photos out of a lineup.
The court filing said that Hopkins and Allen admitted they were at Brewster apartments when the victims were confronted by the group. Hopkins also admitted to driving the stolen F-150, and allegedly told police that Allen had contacted him on social media for a ride the day of the chase.
Authorities said the truck had been built in Kansas and had been driven to Kentucky by its owner, thus meaning the vehicle was "transported in interstate commerce," making its theft a federal case.
Investigators are seeking charges of carjacking, and using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence against Hopkins and Allen.