Police: Man robbed at Pittsfield Township Bob Evans by acquaintance, 2 others
At least one of the suspects knew the man who was robbed outside of the Carpenter Road Bob Evans in Pittsfield Township early Friday morning, where they met to square a debt.
Pittsfield Township Deputy Police Chief Gordy Schick said the 20-year-old Howell man who was robbed at the Bob Evans had met an acquaintance to settle a debt regarding some truck repairs. They had known each other for approximately three weeks, Schick said.
Three men, one with a knife, robbed the Howell man and then ran toward a Days Inn across the street. All three have been arrested. Two of the men were arraigned Friday. Frank Flenna, 33, of Marine City, and Kevin Barthlow, 28, of Harrison Township were both charged with armed robbery. Flenna received an additional charge of assaulting or resisting a police officer.
Schick said their arrests are thanks to good witnesses who were able to point police in the right direction, leading them to the room where the men were staying.
“If it wasn’t for good witnesses, the suspects could have gotten away,” he said.
The Howell man reported being robbed at 1:20 a.m. Friday in the parking lot of the Bob Evans at 2411 Carpenter Road.
A Smith and Wesson folding knife and drugs were confiscated from the arrested men. Schick said there were no other indicators in the police report that made him believe the incident was a drug deal, but the robbery is still under investigation.
Flenna, Barthlow and the 26-year-old man are being held at the Washtenaw County Jail. Flenna and Barthlow both have a $25,000 cash bond and preliminary examinations set for Oct. 30.
It’s unclear which man knew the Howell man.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
brandon530021
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.
the kevin barthlow on otis is 48 and has SR. after his name, could this allegedly be his son?
Cathy
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 8:12 a.m.
Frank Flenna - 6 prior convictions listed on OTIS Kevin Barthlow - 2 prior convictions listed on OTIS, and presently on probation Nice job, corrections system.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 2:16 p.m.
Nice job, parents, family, community, and DNA.
swcornell
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 4:44 a.m.
Wow, who created the title of this article. If it is a proper sentence, which I doubt, I had to read half the article before I realized that Bob was not a person!
smokeblwr
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 8:07 p.m.
Given the residences of the accused I'd be surprised if meth wasn't involved.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 2:15 p.m.
So what are you saying? "Rural" Livingston County is where meth labs are? I thought they were everywhere, even in Urban Ann Arbor. Maybe even in a car. Great thought, though.
smokeblwr
Sat, Oct 20, 2012 : 12:56 a.m.
Because I wouldn't be surprised if criminals collecting drug debts based out of rural Livingston County were involved in meth production and sales.
WalkingJoe
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 9:55 p.m.
And you know this because...?
YpsiGirl4Ever
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
Make sense there were some type of prior relationship here. Most folks are not meeting others in a Bob Evans parking lot at 1:30AM at night, when the restaurant is clearly closed.
brandon530021
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 7:32 p.m.
thanks for the update kyle, i am interested to see where this one goes.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 7:22 p.m.
"A Smith and Wesson folding knife " You don't say, wow good to know. Good to know that these criminals used a pretty low end and cheap knife in their criminal activities. I'll be sure to ask the brand of all knives in the future.