By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Ortonville

– Police are reminding residents to lock their vehicles after recent thefts, including one in which a homeowner chased a suspect.

According to Oakland County Sheriff’s Office reports, Brandon deputies were called at about 5:51 a.m., Jan. 8, to a home in the 800 block of Village Pine Lane where a woman said she looked out the window and saw three males standing by the pine tree in her front yard and one male standing by her husband’s 2017 Buick parked in the driveway.

She heard one of the males by the tree say, “Let’s go, let’s get out of here,” and then they began running west, then north down the middle of the road. The woman chased the male who had been standing by the car, pursuing him east before he disappeared into the woods on the south side of the subdivision.

Nothing was taken from the Buick. The woman’s husband found a pack of unopened cigarettes in the road at the end of his driveway that were not his and which he believes the suspects dropped. Another cigarette pack was found 10 feet away, and a third pack of unopened cigarettes was found in the middle of the road, with all turned over to the crime lab.

On Jan. 4, deputies also responded to a home in the 600 block of E. Ridge Drive after the homeowner reported that he went to the grocery store the night before, returning home around 9 p.m. And leaving his wallet containing more than $250 in his unlocked vehicle in the driveway. He returned to his car about 7:50 a.m. and found the wallet, but with all cash except for $1 gone.

OCSO Lt. Greg Glover, Brandon substation commander, advises residents to always lock vehicles and do not leave valuables inside.

Report suspicious activity to Glover or Sgt. Dale Brown at 248-627-4911.