Police: Teens Vandalize Vacant House; Retail Fraud Suspects Caught

Bloomfield Township

Vandals Caught

Officers with the Bloomfield Township Police Department arrested two teens suspected of vandalizing a vacant home on the township's west side, police reports said.

Police were called to the 1600 block of Keller Lane for a report of people breaking windows on a vacant, foreclosed home at about 1:30 p.m. on June 29. Two suspects seen by witnesses breaking out the windows and causing other damage to the home fled the scene as officers arrived, however, a neighbor helped detain one of them until officers could catch up, reports said. Further details were not immediately available.

Officers arrested the 17-year-old Bloomfield Township resident without incident, and arrested the second suspect — a 17-year-old boy from Troy — a short time later. Both were processed and released pending formal charges for malicious destruction of property, reports said. Damage to the home was estimated at about $5,000.

Retail Frauds

• Police arrested an 18-year-old Auburn Hills man on suspicion of shoplifting from the on June 30, reports said. Officers responded to the store at about 3:30 p.m. after store security reported catching a man trying to wear a new shirt out of the dressing room without a purchase. Security guards said they saw the man enter the dressing room while holding the shirt and then wore it underneath his other shirt as he exited the store. He was transported to the police station, processed and then released pending formal charges for retail fraud, reports said. The shirt was valued at about $35.
• Officers also arrested a 17-year-old Bloomfield Township boy on suspicion of trying to steal two bottles of liquor from on June 30, reports said. Police were called to the store by security officers who said they stopped the teen after he placed two bottles valued at $56 in his backpack and tried to pass all the cash registers without stopping to pay. The suspect was transported to the police station, processed and then released pending formal charges for retail fraud, reports said.

Identity Theft

A Bloomfield Township resident told police she believed she was a victim of identity theft after her Neiman Marcus credit card was used to purchase a designer handbag without proper authorization, reports said. The resident of the 2600 block of Berry Drive told officers she recently discovered the card was used to purchase a Chanel handbag valued at $1,700 on-line on June 14. The handbag was reportedly delivered to a Detroit home. The incident remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about these incidents is encouraged to call the department’s investigations division at 248-433-7752.

Bloomfield Hills

Officials with the investigated a report of a stolen cell phone filed by a resident who said he never received the item after ordering it online, reports said. The resident from the 2000 block of Lahser Road came to the station shortly after 9 a.m. on July 2 and reported that he purchased a phone for $50 last month but did not receive it.

When he contacted the company he purchased it from, they provided documentation that it was delivered by the U.S. Post Office two days before his call, reports said. The report was referred to the U.S. Postal Inspector for further investigation.

For questions about this blotter, email Art.Aisner@Patch.com.