Groveland Twp.- A man suspected in a strong armed robbery of Bueche’s Food World was caught with his pants down a short time later after a series of missteps.
According to police reports, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies, as well as Michigan State Police troopers from the Groveland Post, were advised at about 1:06 a.m. Jan. 15 to be on the lookout for a white male in a black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants and gray underwear that had grabbed money from a till at the grocery store located at 400 Ortonville Road. The man was reported to have fled on foot eastbound on Oakwood Road.
A Brandon deputy received the dispatch call while he was on patrol, traveling westbound on Oakwood Road near Connell Road. The deputy proceeded to stop and check all eastbound vehicles for the suspect, without success. A state police trooper was attempting to track the suspect on foot and a K-9 unit was called in. The trail stalled in the 600 block of Ortonville Road and footprints were found in the 100 block of Groveland Road.
A Brandon deputy who returned to Bueche’s for a better description of the suspect was informed by employees that a vehicle was in the parking lot that did not belong to any employees and there were no customers in the store at that time. The deputy checked records and learned the vehicle was registered to a person residing in the 300 block of Jossman Road. He went and made contact with the owner and asked the man if he knew where his son was. The man responded that his son had just called and was somewhere on Perryville Road, looking for a ride. He said his son had asked him to pick him up because someone was after him.
The deputy had the father call his son. While he was doing so, another deputy outside heard a phone ringing. The deputies walked toward the sound of the ringing phone, which was coming from the woods. A white male came walking out of the woods, dressed only in white shorts and a t-shirt. When the deputies asked him where his clothes were, the suspect responded that he took them off and threw them in the woods. When they asked him if he knew why they were there, the man said, ‘yeah,? and then elaborated by saying he owed a lot of money and doesn’t have a job. The state police troopers took the man into custody.