St. Clair Shores Man Suspected Of Stealing $100K In Construction Equipment

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — A 31-year-old St. Clair Shores man has been arrested and is suspected of stealing more than $100,000 worth of stolen power tools and construction equipment. He was arrested by Grosse Pointe Shores police after a May 19 larceny on Lake Shore Road. Police were expected to arraign the man late last week and have not released his name.

Police believe items were stolen from open construction trailers over a period of several months from at least 10 communities in Macomb and Oakland counties. According to a news release, police received a report of someone stealing tools and equipment from a trailer at a construction site on Lake Shore Road on May 19.

The suspected thief fled in a vehicle on Lake Shore where a city camera monitoring traffic captured an “excellent” image of his car and license plate, police Chief John Schulte said in the release. Police obtained a search warrant for the registered owner’s home in St. Clair Shores and also discovered he rented a storage unit in Roseville, the Macomb Daily reported.

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Investigators executed the search warrant on May 23 and took the suspect into custody at his home. Schulte said officers recovered three pick-up truck loads of stolen power tools, cordless drills, tile cutters and construction equipment from the house and garage. Police then went to the storage unit and found it to be filled from floor to ceiling with stolen landscape, construction equipment and power tools, which were confiscated, the newspaper reported.

“An extensive investigation is continuing into tagging the evidence and notifying and assisting other local departments and victims identify and recover their stolen property to close their larceny complaints,” Schulte said in the release.

Photo courtesy of the Grosse Point Shores Police Department.