In one week — in high-speed chases, to a PIT maneuver on I-96, to a chase in a downtown Howell neighborhood, and performing a “high-risk traffic stop” — deputies from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office recovered 4 stolen vehicles (as well as some stolen guns).
If that sounds like a lot of stolen vehicles recovered in a short amount of time, you’re right. Sheriff Mike Murphy said that on average, his departments recovers about 3 vehicles a month.
At about 8:20 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, sheriff’s deputies performed a “textbook” PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver to stop a fleeing vehicle from heading the wrong way on I-96. The vehicle was a 2021 Toyota Rav4 with a stolen registration plate on westbound I-96 near M-59 in Howell Township.
You can read all about that incident and see the video of the maneuver by clicking here.
The next vehicle recovered was a black Dodge Ram pickup that was running with the doors open when it was abandoned on Braeview Drive in southwest Howell neighborhood after a high speed chase in the early hours of the morning on Jan. 10 that began on westbound I-96. You can read all about that incident by clicking here.
The next day — Jan. 11 — at 1:20 a.m., a 2010 Toyota Tundra without a license plate headed west on I-96 at high rates of speed before exiting at M-59 and heading west and then north on Latson Road. The vehicle was finally found abandoned on a property near Antcliff Road and Pioneer Drive in Choctah Township, and inside it were several stolen guns and a bullet-proof vest. The driver was located at the Mugg and Bopps at Oak Grove and Sanford roads about 6 hours later, and was taken into custody. You can read all about that chase by clicking here.
The fourth stolen vehicle in a week was recovered on Saturday, Jan. 14, when a deputy on patrol on I-96 in Howell Township checked the registration of a 2023 Dodge Ram pickup truck. The plate indicated that the vehicle had been stolen in December from a manufacturer lot in Sterling Heights, along with a GMC Envoy.
As the deputy approached the vehicle to conduct a traffic stop, it abruptly exited I-96 onto M-59/Highland Road where deputies performed a high-risk traffic stop to take the two occupants into custody. The driver, a 26-year-old Detroit man, admitted to knowing the vehicle was stolen and was arrested for receiving an concealing a stolen motor vehicle.
You can watch the video of the arrest here:
