Three men are in jail for 70 break-in crimes
CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI -- Three suspects are in custody tonight for a rash of break-ins in Chippewa County.
They were caught after one suspect crashed into a tree during a high-speed chase that was all caught on tape.
The chase happened early Christmas Eve in Chippewa County.
One of the burglary suspects took off after being stopped by a sheriff's deputy.
A SUV driving 115 miles per hour misses a police cruiser by just inches around 2 in the morning Christmas Eve. The Blazer went on to hit a tree near the corner of Mackinac trail and the I-75 Business Spur in Sault Ste. Marie. The SUV is totaled, the speedometer is stuck at 100 miles per hour, and the driver is in jail.
“We're just fortunate here nobody was killed," says Chippewa County Sheriff Robert Savoie.
Sheriff Savoie says it all started when one of his officers noticed suspicious activity, including an ATV hanging out of a trunk, in an area that has been stung with break-ins for the past few months. The officer pulled over two vehicles loaded with stolen items, got the license plate of one of them, and then the Blazer took off. The officer was led on a high speed chase that ended with the Blazer crashing into a tree. The driver of the Blazer was hospitalized and later taken to jail and two other men were found a few hours later and also arrested.
“We can connect these three suspects to burglaries back to late-August, September, October, November. Safely, I think, well in addition to 70 crimes to be solved here,” says Sheriff Savoie.
The crime spree suspects are 21 year-old Darius Thomas, 25 year-old Rial Rabineau, and 22 year-old Timothy Hintz, the driver of the blazer. They’ll be arraigned Wednesday morning in 91st District Court with several felony charges.
Right now, police are sorting through the thousands of items worth 10's of thousands of dollars, and they're going to the archives of reports to find those victims to return their items.
“We recovered about six pick-up trucks full of property and they are continuing that recovery as we speak today," says Sheriff.
Everything from a child's toy helicopter, fishing poles and a grill, to amps and lawnmowers. If you are missing something and believe you are a victim, the Sheriff wants you to call him.
The Sheriff tells us this is just the beginning of the investigation and more arrests could be made.
He says storage units, homes, and businesses were targeted during the spree.
