Roommate found in D.C., arrested after woman's $17k ring stolen in Clinton Twp
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A roommate wanted for tying up and robbing a woman of her $17,000 wedding ring in Clinton Township was located and arrested.
Clinton Township police say Shane Fountain, 48, was found and arrested at a train station in Washington, D.C. and has been brought back to Michigan. He had been wanted on three felony charges.
Police allege Fountain tied up his landlord in her garage before robbing her. Tia McClain told us she faked being unconscious and that the suspect stole her wedding ring and took off.
Clinton Township police found the ring in a pawn shop in Detroit.
The ring was stolen earlier this month. McClain told us Fountain, who had lived with her for more than a year, lured her into the garage.
"He told me, 'I think I lost my wallet and I think it might be in your garage,'" McClain said. Once inside, she says he wasn't looking for his wallet. She said he bound her, bear hugged her and "kept squeezing and squeezing." She eventually pretended to pass out, which is when he took the ring.
After he left she was able to free her duct-taped hands by squirming over to a shovel and using the metal end, and called 911.
Fountain has been charged with assault with intent to rob while unharmed; assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation; and unlawful imprisonment.
"It's only half the battle because he is claiming he didn't do it," said McClain.
McClain said she did what she could to help her own cause, including not canceling her phone plan - one she shared with the suspect.
"I left him on it so I could see who he was calling. He called Amtrak and a couple hotels in West Palm Beach," she said. "So I figured he was getting on an Amtrak because there are stops down in West Palm Beach."
Acting on information police arrested fountain at the Amtrak station in Washington DC.
"He's a con man," she said. "He wormed his way into our house and he took advantage of us."