2 Detroit Men Arrested in Car Break-Ins

Undercover Detroit police arrested two men carrying purses and a plastic garbage bag down Harper Avenue this weekend in connection with at least one vehicle break-in/theft in . 

Woods detectives are further investigating the men as they believe they could be responsible for other vehicle break-ins and property thefts, Detective Sgt. Raymond Yonkowski said. After their arrests, the men told police whenever they needed money they would come to the Pointes to steal valuables, he said. 

The men are not believed to be part of the , Yonkowski said. Both men are being held in police custody and will appear in Grosse Pointe Woods court Wednesday. 

A purse belonging to a resident from the 1600 block of Prestwick Road was among the items recovered by Detroit police, who alerted the resident to her car being broken into during the night. It was parked in her driveway and the men stole her purse, containing her ID, checkbook and 10 to 12 credit cards, according to a police report.

The officers returned the woman's ID and checkbook but took the other items into evidence, according to the report. 

The Detroit officers stopped the men believing their circumstances—carrying purses and a plastic bag down Harper Avenue about 3 a.m. on June 11—to be suspicious, Yonkowski said. 

The men have each been charged preliminarily with larceny. 

Meanwhile, according to a report filed in Grosse Pointe Farms, the most recent attempt in the series of navigation thefts happened June 10 about 2:30 a.m. A resident in the 200 block of Merriweather Road spotted a man trying to break into her neighbor's 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, yelled at him and called her neighbors. The man ran away from the SUV, which was parked in the street. 

The vehicle had clearly been damaged by an attempt to break the window, but the would-be thief could not break it, according to the report. The Cherokee has a navigation system inside. 

Officers searched the area for the man and even did a canine track, but the dog lost the scent near Beaupre and Mount Vernon roads. This is the second time a resident has scared off a would-be thief. 

On June 3, in the 400 block of Manor Road, the owners of a GMC Yukon heard the break-in attempt and yelled at the men, who then fled the scene in a car. They were not able to provide a description. 

The neighbor on Merriweather Road provided police with the most description yet but it is still very basic information. More than a dozen navigation thefts/break-ins have been reported between the Woods, the Farms and Harper Woods since early May. That investigation is continuing, Yonkowski said.