HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Three Detroit men and a teenage boy have been arrested in connection with the theft of four high-end vehicles valued at nearly $330,000 from a southeastern Michigan car dealership.
The thefts occurred Wednesday in Highland Township, the Oakland County sheriff’s office said Thursday in a release.
Vehicle key fobs were stolen from an office. Two of the vehicles were driven out through the showroom’s glass door wall.
An area auto theft unit tracked a 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat SRT later Wednesday to Birmingham, northwest of Detroit. The driver crashed the SUV into a brick wall while fleeing.
He and two passengers were arrested. The passengers were wearing masks that covered their faces except for the eyes. Police recovered $5,800, a loaded semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine holding 30 rounds and a computer device used to reprogram key fobs.
The sheriff’s office said the men are not believed to have stolen the Durango but paid $5,000 for one of the vehicles. The Durango is valued at about $100,000.
A 15-year-old male, a younger brother of one of the men, was arrested later in Detroit.
A 2021 Dodge Durango GT, 2021 Dodge Ram TRX and a 2017 Dodge Charger Hellcat SRT also were stolen and later recovered.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the suspects were involved in a commercial auto theft ring.
The thefts also are connected to several break-ins Wednesday at gas stations in western Oakland County where cash, cigarettes and other merchandise were taken, Bouchard’s office said.
