MONROE TWP. — Two teenagers not old enough to drive came to Monroe in a stolen car, then tried to steal two dirt bikes after allegedly breaking into a business on South Telegraph Road.
Both youths, ages 13 and 14, were captured and lodged in the Monroe County Youth Center, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough reported.
Deputies first came in contact with the young criminals at about 5:15 a.m. Friday when the lawmen responded to an activated alarm at the business in the 1000 block of South Telegraph in Monroe Township. The name of the business was not released.
Deputy James Yuchuck arrived on scene and discovered a broken window near the front entrance of the building, a news release said. Deputy Jacob Llewellyn responded as backup and located the juvenile suspects at the rear of the building, each attempting to drive off on separate dirt bikes that were just stolen from the business.
The suspects fled on foot, and after a brief foot pursuit deputies lost sight of them. K9 handler Deputy Danny Greenwood and his police service dog (PSD), Arlo, responded to the scene and began a K9 track. In addition, Sgt. Ryan Sottile responded with the sheriff’s office’s drone and began searching the area for the suspects. Arlo tracked to the area of West Seventh Street and South Telegraph where deputies located one of the suspects.
The second suspect was located nearby with the help of drone thermal imaging. Both suspects were taken into custody and lodged at the Monroe County Youth Center pending a hearing.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered the suspects had stolen a vehicle out of Canton, about 30 miles from Monroe, which they used to drive to the scene. The vehicle was located and recovered in a nearby parking lot.
The Michigan State Police as well as the Monroe Police Department assisted at the scene. The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau as well as deputies Llewellyn and Yuchuck of the Uniform Service Division.
Anyone who has additional information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 734-240-7530.
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