Group tied to Lansing-area auto thefts arrested in Detroit area

LANSING — Eight Detroit-area men have been charged as part of a multi-state auto theft ring that operated throughout Michigan, including in the Lansing area, and stole hundreds of vehicles.

The theft ring stole more than 400 vehicles valued at more than $8 million by targeting new vehicle storage lots at manufacturing facilities, car dealerships, parking lots and individual residences. The operation spanned more than 40 jurisdictions in Oakland, Washtenaw, Macomb, Wayne, Eaton and Kent counties.

Six of the men charged are in custody, and officers who executed the warrants recovered seven stolen vehicles, hundreds of car parts linked to stolen vehicles, a large number of electronic key fobs, stolen dealership license plates, burglary tools — including some devices specifically for stealing automobiles, thousands of dollars in cash, and additional evidence, including nine firearms, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a release.

The six men, from Detroit, Wixom and Troy, are charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and use of a computer to commit a crime, both 20-year felonies, as well as numerous other felonies.

The Michigan State Police Fugitive Team is seeking two additional suspects.

Stolen vehicles, Nessel said, were sold "exponentially below market value" on the black market. Stolen vehicles have been linked to armed robberies, weapons offenses, felony evasion of police, carjackings, murder, and attempted murder, the release said.

Suspects turned to violence when confronted, Nessel said, allegedly shooting at officers and ramming security vehicles if confronted.

“The activities of criminal organizations like these go far beyond theft,” Nessel said. “They cause millions in financial losses to our retail partners, sow fear, and endanger lives. Vehicles stolen as part of this criminal enterprise go on to become tools in violence, posing additional threats to public safety."

Since August 2023, Michigan's FORCE Team, Troy Police Department, and departments in Auburn Hills, Canton, Dearborn, Detroit, Eastpointe, Farmington Hills, Lansing, Livonia, Novi, Roseville, Royal Oak, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Walled Lake, and Warren, as well as the Oakland County Auto Theft Group and Macomb County Auto Theft Unit have been investigating the thefts.

“In my tenure of 30-plus years, I have never seen such bold and brazen thefts from new car auto dealerships,” said Rod Alberts, co-executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. "This has become an epidemic of organized criminals preying on businesses in our communities and putting law enforcement and the general public in harm’s way, not just during the theft itself, but on the streets after they have stolen the vehicles.”

Lansing-area manufacturer lots have been targeted numerous times in recent years by groups of thieves, though Nessel's release did not tie those arrested to specific Lansing incidents.