Fraser Man Suspected in Burglaries Awaiting Extradition

The 27-year-old Fraser man arrested in New York over the weekend is awaiting extradition to Michigan for absconding from parole in Macomb County. 

Joseph T. Reiner is being held in New York on  a variety of charges stemming from the 100-mile chase he led officers on early Saturday. Reiner has been named suspect in a Macomb Township a brutal assault and home invasion Feb. 23 , and he is a suspect in two Grosse Pointe Farms burglaries.

Reiner was arrested on Feb. 26 by New York State Police on the Tappen Zee Bridge in Orangetown, NY, after an almost 100-mile car chase that started in Roxbury, NJ.

Reiner had previously spent time in prison for a home invasion. According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Reiner was sentenced to 2.5 years to 15 years in prison on a second-degree home invasion committed in Macomb County in 2006. He is also listed as an absconder from his Michigan parole beginning Jan. 25.

According to his Facebook page, Reiner had only been out of prison for a few months before this recent arrest.

Grosse Pointe Farms Detective Rick Good confirmed Reiner has an extensive criminal history, even though he's only served one prison term. A New York State trooper told Good on Tuesday that during their interview, Reiner denied any knowledge or connection with the Grosse Pointe burglaries. Good said despite his denial, they still believe he is the man who broke into the homes and stole the car. 

Grosse Pointe Farms police have thought the burglar may have been posing as a snow-shoveler going door-to-door to get close to the homes to determine whether anyone was home. Another Farms resident unrelated to either break-in reported that a man who looked like Reiner approached her with an offer to shovel her driveway, as well, Good said. 

Detectives matched footprints left in the snow at both burglarized homes—one in the 400 block of Moross Feb. 24 and one in the 400 block of Bournemouth Feb. 25. Detectives have sent a few fingerprints taken from the scene of at least one of the Farms break-ins to the Michigan State Crime Lab for analysis, Good said. 

Good intends to interview Reiner when he arrives back in Michigan, he said.

In the Farms burglaries, items reported stolen include about $250 in loose change, a Wii game system, a television and the 1999 Acura in which Reiner led New Jersey and New York police on a lengthy chase before his arrest Saturday. 

In New York, he is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, reckless endangerment, unlawfully fleeing police, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, unlawful possession of marijuana, various vehicle and traffic violations and being a fugitive from justice from the state of Michigan, according New York State Police.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said that without a warrant, he could not disclose any additional information on his department's investigation into the stabbing except to say Reiner remains a person of interest in the case.

Reiner is being held at the Rockland County Jail to await extradition proceedings from the parole division of the Michigan Department of Corrections, according to New York Police. The Roxbury, NJ, Police Department and the New Jersey State Police will also be filing charges.