Wild video shows Macomb County kidnapping suspect running from police with victim tied up in truck
SHELBY TWP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 38-year-old man from Florida was arrested late Monday night for carjacking and kidnapping a man from a Macomb County gym; police chased him through several cities before ultimately chasing him on foot and taking him into custody.
Three other suspects escaped and have not been identified.
The wild video released by Shelby Township Police puts more of the pieces of a convoluted story together as police tracked down the suspect and found the victim tied up in the suspect's car.
The calls came in between 7 and 8 p.m. – the exact time was reported differently by the two police departments – of an abduction outside of Life Time Fitness on Lakeside Boulevard in Shelby Township.
Shelby Township Police, who will be handling the investigation, said the abduction happened around 8 p.m. Sterling Heights Police said the abduction was around 7:15 p.m.
Both departments said a 24-year-old victim was abducted at gunpoint and abused by four armed males at Life Time Fitness in the area of Hall and Hayes in Shelby Township. A search was started for the suspect vehicle, a black GMC pickup truck.
Sterling Heights Police eventually tracked down the truck on Dearing Drive near 15 Mile and Dodge Park Road in their city at a home. This is where the dashcam video above starts.
The truck was backed into a driveway on Dearing and several police on foot were spotted running towards the truck. The driver pulls out of the driveway and leads the dangerous chase through the residential streets. Several other police cars are lined up on Dearing as the truck drives towards them.
The truck then goes around an innocent car driving down the street with police flashing lights and sirens behind them. The truck then turns right onto Brougham Drive towards Dodge Park Road. The Sterling Heights Police Officer is right behind him, however, and continues following him.
The truck runs through the stop sign at Dodge Park Drive and bottoms out through the intersection – you can watch the truck bounce several times as it crosses the busy road. The road did slow down the officer a bit, who gave some space to the running truck that kept running down Brougham Drive and then turned right on Malibu, right before the end of Brougham.
The truck followed Malibu Drive and eventually turned left on Mustang Drive, where several other police units were waiting – but the driver continued to evade and then turned onto 15 Mile where he collided with a passing car. As a result of the collision, one of the truck's wheels snapped off and rolled away and into traffic.
At this point, the truck is completely disabled and had left several ruts in the ground of the median as the driver bails out of the truck and runs off, with several police running right behind him.
The video then cuts to a bodycam, which shows several police running after the man in what looks like a park. Another police unit pulls up, and an officer appears to tase the suspect – who can then be heard screaming with several officers on top of him and taking him into custody.
"It was really scary," said one neighbor, who lives in an apartment complex near the area police searched for the remaining suspects. "Usually, (the neighborhood) is really calm."
A wild police chase after an abduction in Macomb County came to an end after the truck hit a passing car and the driver tried to run on foot.
Shelby Township Police said the victim was found tied up in the pickup truck and there was also a loaded rifle in the truck as well. The victim had minor injuries and the suspect, who has not yet been named, was booked into the Macomb County Jail.
The abduction is still under investigation with Shelby Township Police taking the lead.
"We supported their investigation with our surveillance system to aid in the description and capture of suspects and release of the victim," Life Time Fitness released in a statement.