A breaking and entering suspect at Chuck’s Sunoco on Baldwin Road led the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department on a wild ride on Aug. 2, finally ending at Oakland Community College’s Auburn Hills campus off Squirrel Road.
According to an OCSD report, deputies responded to an alarm at the Sunoco Gas Station at 4016 Baldwin, shortly after 2 a.m.
Upon arrival, deputies observed three males at the scene, two of whom fled on foot, while the third drove off in a mini- van.
Units pursued the suspects? van onto southbound I-75, where it reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
The Auburn Hills Police Department assisted in setting up ‘spike sticks? before the Chrysler Drive exit.
The ‘spike sticks? deflated the front tires of the van, but the suspect continued to drive through Auburn Hills. He eventually stopped on the OCC grounds.
The suspect, a 39-year-old Detroit man, was driving a van reported stolen back in May. He was placed into custody without additional incident.
During the pursuit, four patrol units suffered minor damage to wheel rims, tires and a cracked front grill. The damage was from debris flying off of the disabled van, and from the cars pursuing the suspect over numerous curbs.
All of the cars were back in service the next day.
OCSD Lieutenant Bruce Naile, commander of the Orion Substation, said an investigation to locate the other two suspects is ongoing and the OCSD is reviewing surveillance footage from the area.
Naile also noted that the vehicle’s description was similar to vehicles matched with two other breaking and entering incidents on Baldwin in the past couple of weeks.
Both Orion Wine & Deli and Indianwood Junction were victims of what Naile called ‘smash and grabs,? where the suspects broke glass doors to gain entry, and then took whatever they could before fleeing the scene.