You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:28 a.m.

Ann Arbor police arrest man accused of stealing vehicle while owner was nearby at Main and William

By Heather Lockwood

Ann Arbor police say a car thief swiped a vehicle near a busy downtown intersection early today while the owner was nearby, but the thief was arrested 30 minutes later.

The victim's GMC vehicle was parked and unlocked near the intersection of Main and William streets at about 7:53 a.m. when a man got into it and drove away, Lt. Angella Abrams said.

The victim was not in the vehicle at the time, and no weapon was seen, Abrams said. She stressed it was not a carjacking.

"(The victim) witnessed the theft of the vehicle and called us immediately," Abrams said.

Abrams said the vehicle was equipped with OnStar, which assisted police in finding it.

An officer spotted the stolen vehicle in Superior Township near Plymouth and Prospect roads, pulled it over and arrested the driver without incident, Abrams said.

No further details were immediately available.

Comments

Killroy

Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 8:44 a.m.

@ wacky_walrus, yes. We both need tickets.

djm12652

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 12:39 p.m.

@walrus...you are funny! But CommonThought, you are spot on. I walk my dog in the early morning starting on Washington and often see people leaving their cars running while going into Sweetwater, see the same thing on Liberty for Starbucks, Main St. for Espresso Royale and also at the BP...but as Momma Gump says..."stupid is as stupid does..."

wacky_walrus

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 12:09 p.m.

@Greek God: yourself included?

Killroy

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:57 a.m.

The thief, the victim, and all the folks who commented on this story should be issued tickets by the police.

nowayjose

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:31 a.m.

Actually leaving your car running unattended is illegal. So the owner, if that did happen, would be in the wrong too.

Woman in Ypsilanti

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:52 a.m.

Yeah, they should arrest the owner of the car if they did *anything* not completely 100% perfect. Clearly if they left the keys in their car, they were just asking for it. *rolls eyes* Seriously, although certain behaviors can lesson one's risk of being a victim of a crime, we really need to remember that even when someone doesn't choose those behaviors, it still isn't their fault if someone decides to rip them off. The only person to blame here is car thief.

CommonThought

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:41 a.m.

"The victim's GMC vehicle was parked and unlocked near the intersection of Main and William streets" "(The victim) witnessed the theft of the vehicle" so, what are the chances that the drive left the keys in the car, and/or left the car running while they grabbed a coffee from Starbucks or while they went to the ATM?