16-year-old Macomb Twp. Girl Admits Involvement in Purse Thefts

A 16-year-old Macomb Township teenager has admitted to using her family's car in the , and Grosse Pointe Farms police will pursue charges against her through the Wayne County Juvenile system. 

Detectives tracked the teen down after an officer found the car used in the crimes parked on Mack Avenue near Kerby Road with a spare tire in front of a car repair business, according to a report.

The car was towed away by police, who , the stepfather of the teenager. During an interview the girl admitted driving the car during the crimes and provided information to detectives about the others in the car but the information did not pan out, Public Safety Director Dan Jensen said. 

She lied to police several times but then began giving more information including identifying a house in Detroit where she believed her accomplices lived. But when detectives tried to go to the house, it was abandoned, Jensen said. 

Detectives are planning to interview the girl again. She has no criminal history and her parents have been cooperative with police, Detective Richard Rosati said. 

Employees from the car repair business where the vehicle was recovered said it had been dropped of in the afternoon of July 31—hours after it was used at two Mack Avenue gas stations in thefts of purses from parked cars. 

One of the gas station owners turned over video surveillance of the theft, which was also witnessed by an off-duty Detroit police officer who gave chase to the car following the crime, but lost them after a short pursuit.

The video surveillance is very good, Jensen said, but it doesn't help identify the teenager's accomplices. She has not yet been charged but Jensen said the plan is to pursue a larceny charge against her. Police are still hopeful she'll provide information about her accomplices, he said.

Meanwhile, none of the stolen possessions have been recovered. There were three attempts to to use one of the victim's stolen credit cards at two different gas stations in Detroit hours after the thefts but the victim had already canceled the card, according to a report. 

Rosati said the attempt to use the credit card is likely to lead to another charge because it's fraudulent use of a financial device. 

Both victims had their purses in their cars, stepped inside the gas station after pumping gas and returned to find their purses gone. The first was in the City of Grosse Pointe at and the second about half an hour later was at the at Mack and Moross. During the second incident, several people witnessed the crime happen as the woman was inside and provided police with descriptions. 

The car was spotted as being suspicious at the first gas station because it circled the lot so many times before driving up to the car and stealing the purse, according to a police report.

Jensen said the video surveillance shows the group was very fast at actually committing the crime, noting they barely stopped while entering the victim's car and stealing the purse.