Grosse Pointe Woods Police Question 3 Men

police were questioning three men Friday afternoon who ran from officers shortly after 3 a.m. in the 1800 block of New Castle Road. A truck parked near where the men were found had its door ajar and its owner confirmed it had been broken into, according to a police report.

As of Friday afternoon, the men are not believed to be related to that have plagued the Woods, the Farms and Harper Woods and in which thieves are stealing navigation systems, according to police. But the third of three men was still being questioned. 

A patrol officer spotted one of the men running in circles in the street on New Castle. When the officer shined a spotlight on the man, he ran behind a pine tree and the officer heard other men run away and jump fences, according to a report. 

The officer called for other patrol officers to help and asked Farms and Harper Woods police to set up a perimeter. Officers found two of the men right away and then found the third at the home of the first two, according to a report.

All three were taken into custody for prowling and two were also charged with minor in possession of alcohol as each had a blood alcohol content—0.05 and 0.11 percents, according to the report.

The owner of the truck confirmed to police that someone had been in it. He told officers the car had been unlocked but that his console was usually down and it was up when he came out to look at it. Officers asked that the man not touch the truck so they could gather evidence, such as fingerprints, so it was unknown at that time whether or not anything had been stolen from the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the most recent break-in targeting navigation systems was reported by a Grosse Pointe Farms couple in the 400 block of Manor Road on June 3. The couple heard glass breaking and looked outside to see someone breaking into their 2008 GMC Yukon. The woman yelled at the persons, who left the navigation system on the floor of the SUV and drove away in a car. The couple was not able to provide a description of the persons, but said their car had a loud exhaust, according to a Grosse Pointe Farms police report.

In that case, the side window was broken out of the Yukon and the navigation system had been removed from the dashboard. Officers were gathering fingerprints from the Yukon, according to the report.

This is one of in the Woods, Farms and Harper Woods. Many have occurred in the daytime on Mack Avenue outside of businesses and many in brief time frames.

Police from the Farms and the Woods have said they believe one person or a group of people is responsible for all of the crimes in which high-end SUVs have been targeted. Most have been either Chryslers or GMC's.  

The break-in spree began in early May and included one that was just down the street from where the men who were questioned were found on Friday.