Police arrest Saline teen they say tried to sell stolen GPS unit back to victim on Craigslist

Saline police said they have arrested a teenager who unwittingly tried to sell a stolen GPS system back to the victim after she responded to an ad on Craigslist.com.

The 17-year-old Saline resident was arrested Thursday without incident at a gas station near downtown Saline where he planned to meet the victim at about noon, reports said. The case was sent to prosecutors for review and police said the suspect’s name will be released upon arraignment if multiple charges for larceny from a vehicle and receiving and concealing stolen property are authorized.

Police reports indicate the victim, a 35-year-old Saline woman, told officers her GPS was taken from her vehicle parked outside overnight in the 100 block of Harper Drive on April 3. The device was inside the center console of the vehicle, which was unlocked.

No suspect information was available, but officers encouraged her to check a few Websites where it could be listed for sale. She called the department a few days later and reported that she found a device matching the description of her stolen unit on Craiglist.com and that it was listed for sale by a Saline resident on the same day she reported it missing, according to reports.

She called the seller, who said the GPS unit she requested was already spoken for, but that he had two others she could see. The woman set up a meeting at the gas station and met the teen while under surveillance by Officer Theo Helms, who wore a coat over his uniform and was in an unmarked car. Helms approached as the suspect handed her two black devices with the power cords attached and placed him under arrest, police said.

Reports said Helms was able to determine the two devices were stolen from other vehicles in the city sometime overnight from April 2 to April 3. With the suspect’s cooperation, Helms went to the boy’s home and recovered the victim’s stolen unit as well. All the GPS units were intact and valued between $150 and $300. It was unclear from reports for how much he was trying to sell the devices.

Sgt. Kevin Murphy said the advent of on-line person-to-person sale sites can often make the job of retrieving stolen items difficult, but he credited the victim’s determination and officer Helms’ instincts for a quick resolution.

“This was a good example of how we can work with citizens to solve crimes,” he said. The investigation is ongoing, but reports do not indicate there were additional victims or that any other individuals were involved.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.

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