Police are seeking charges against a 20-year-old Webster Township man accused of breaking into at least 20 vehicles in recent weeks, including 17 in a park-and-ride lot at US-23 and North Territorial Road in Northfield Township.
The suspect was identified after his pickup truck broke down, and a Washtenaw County sheriff's deputy discovered stolen loot in the back, Northfield Township police Lt. Tim Greene said.
The majority of the car break-ins occurred Nov. 5. A total of 17 vehicles in the carpool lot at US-23 and North Territorial Road were burglarized between 6-11 a.m. Nov. 5.
Greene said windows were broken and GPS units, sunglasses, stereos and other items were taken.
That same day, the man's pickup broke down on Joy Road, and a sheriff's deputy stopped to assist. The man wasn't there but soon returned to the pickup and claimed the stereos and other items were his, Greene said.
At the time, the break-ins hadn't been reported, so the deputy identified the man and allowed him to leave, Greene said. After receiving reports of the car break-ins, police went to the man's home and arrested him, Greene said.
The man confessed, and the stolen property was recovered, Greene said. His permanent address is in Webster Township with his parents, but he had recently been staying in Whitmore Lake, police said.
The man also has been tied to two other car break-ins the same day in the Harbor Cove complex and another in a different subdivision, Greene said. In one of those cases, a GPS unit was taken.
Greene said police are attempting to determine whether the man could be involved in other recent cases. Police are seeking 20 charges of felony larceny from an auto against him.
Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call Northfield Township police at 734-449-8900.
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