MICHIGAN COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kalamazoo_and_battle_creek/Theft-suspect-arrested-after-slide-off

Theft suspect arrested after slide-off

Suspect accused of breaking and entering

Updated: Sunday, 29 Jan 2012, 3:53 PM EST Published : Sunday, 29 Jan 2012, 3:46 PM EST

KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A man was arrested on breaking and entering charges after his van -- which was full of stolen computer equipment -- slid off the road in Kalamazoo Township.

Kalamazoo Township police responded when the suspect's van slid off the snowy road and into the ditch in the 2100 block of Oak Openings Street, according to police.

A witness who saw the slide-off said that after the accident, the driver fled the scene on foot.

Township officers, with the aid of Kalamazoo Public Safety officers, tracked the man's footprints in the snow to a house in the 700 block of Fennimore Avenue.

When they knocked on the front door, the suspect attempted to flee through the back door. Officers in place near the back door arrested the suspect, a 35-year-old Kalamazoo man, after a brief struggle.

It was soon discovered that the van the suspect had fled from had stolen computer equipment inside. Five laptops, one desktop computer and several computer accessories with a total value of about $2,000 were recovered from the van.


Further investigation revealed that a business in the 3400 block of Gull Road in Kalamazoo had been burglarized. A pick-ax found outside the business appeared to have been used to smash the front door.

The business owner confirmed that computer equipment had been stolen. Officers returned the stolen items to the store.

The suspect told authorities that he had been on a drug binge and was trying to get money to buy more drugs.

He is being held at the Kalamazoo County Jail on charges of breaking and entering, resisting and obstructing police, assault on a police officer and leaving the scene of an accident.

The suspect may have had a male accomplice who has yet to be identified.

Anyone with information about the break-in or accomplice is asked to call Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 269.337.8994 or Silent Observer at 269.343.2100.