Four robbers hoped an insideman would ensure the success of their drug rip-off caper, but failed to take into account one thing ? a flighty wheelman.
Deputies rolled up six Independence and Springfield township men in an apparent drug deal gone wrong.
Deputies were called to the scene of a reported armed robbery, 9:12 p.m., Oct. 25. A 25-year-old Independence Township man and 18-year-old Springfield Township man told police they were parked at a Dixie Highway restaurant smoking cigarettes when a Jeep Cherokee squealed to a stop in front of them.
They said car doors slammed and suddenly guns were pointed at their heads, the gunmen yelling for them to “give up all you got” ? a bag of medicinal marijuana and $1,500 in cash from unemployment checks they just cashed.
But then the Jeep sped away, leaving the two gunmen to flee on foot. The victims drove after the Jeep, following it into an apartment complex on Dixie Highway, back onto dixie, east to Maybee, losing them in a subdivision.
They got their license plate number, however, and returned to the restaurant to call police. Deputies headed to the Springfield Township house where the 19-year-old registered Jeep owner lived.
Meanwhile, a deputy based out of Brandon Township staked out a position at Ortonville and Rattalee Lake roads for possible intercept. The suspect drove by and the deputy pulled him over, called for backup, and made the arrest.
Deputies back at the restaurant tracked the two gunmen, finding in the woods two weapons, a single-shot, .410-gauge shotgun and a .22-caliber, tube-fed rifle, plus a black shirt and red baseball cap. A search by K-9 units failed to turn up the gunmen.
But investigation took a turn when deputies questioned the two “victims.”
Turns out the “cigarettes” contained marijuana, not tobacco. They had a medical-marijuana card, but they were carrying too much.
“You’re not allowed to carry a quarter pound of marijuana,” said Det. John McDonald of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Independence Township substation.
And the money wasn’t from their unemployement checks ? it was actually brought by a third man, allegedly there to buy the drugs, whose presence they concealed from police.
“We got the victims to admit the truth,” said McDonald. “The money man was in the vehicle with them and the gunmen were hiding in the bushes.”
The “victims” thought they and their buyer were ripped off by the gunmen and Jeep driver. Turns out, the “buyer” was in on it.
“The four guys planned to rob the other two and make it look like they were all set up,” McDonald said. “The plan didn’t work. We’ve had drug rips before, but they don’t usually call police to report them.”
The alleged plot fell apart when the wheelman panicked and drove away, leaving the gunmen on foot and the insideman still inside the car with the victims, who decided to pursue the Jeep.
Investigation revealed their names and addresses. The alleged gunmen, an 18-year-old Springfield Township man and an 18-year-old Independence Township man, and the alleged insideman, an 18-year-old Springfield Township man, were tracked to their homes the next morning and arrested. Investigation continues.