| Lakeside lot struck by car thieves
By Cortney Casey STERLING HEIGHTS — A flurry of criminal activity outside Lakeside Mall July 24 resulted in two vehicles damaged, one missing and a car stereo stolen. The incidents all occurred between 10 a.m. and 11:05 p.m., but Lt. Luke Riley of the Sterling Heights police said he couldn’t say for certain that they involved the same culprits, and there were no known witnesses. According to police, an employee of the mall reported that he had parked his truck near Sears Auto Care, on the northwest side of the facility, at around 10 a.m. Around 5 p.m., a co-worker informed the man that the truck was blocking an aisle in the parking lot. When he ventured outside, he found someone had moved the vehicle from its original parking spot, damaged the driver’s side door and busted out the steering column, leaving the ignition on the driver’s side floorboard. Riley said it appeared someone had attempted to steal the vehicle, moving it in the process, but failed, for reasons unknown, to escape with it. “I don’t know mechanically what had happened, but it appears they got it running, and maybe it stalled,” he said. While police were investigating the initial complaint near Sears, mall security apprised them that the driver’s side window had been broken out of another vehicle, parked in the lot near Lord & Taylor, on Lakeside’s southeast side. Officers running the damaged vehicle’s license plate discovered that it belonged to another mall employee. The car’s ignition was damaged, and the stereo had been stolen. Police also found blood throughout the vehicle. Riley said the blood likely came from the thief, but it was unclear whether the subject injured himself while breaking the window, removing the stereo or in another manner. A JCPenney employee also notified police to report that her vehicle had been stolen from the Lakeside lot. She told officers that she parked the car there around 4:30 p.m., but when she emerged from the mall at about 11:05 p.m., it was missing. Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call Sterling Heights police at (586) 446-2800. People also can submit anonymous tips by texting the information, with “shpolice” as the first line, to tip411 (847411). You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046. |
