Target thief arrested then taken to hospital

A Royal Oak resident was arrested by Bloomfield Township police at the Target store located at 2400 S. Telegraph Road on Saturday, February 28, for theft of items at the retail outlet and eventually had to be taken to a hospital after complaining about chest pains.

At approximately 2 p.m. on that Saturday, loss prevention personnel identified a male subject in the store that was actively concealing bottles of liquor and batteries, according to police.

As officers arrived at Target, the subject, a 65-year-old Black male from Royal Oak, was coming down the elevator attempting to leave the store. A search of the suspect recovered one bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon, two bottles of Grey Goose vodka, two bottles of Tito’s vodka, and four packages of Energizer AAA batteries, police said.

The police report said that during the search officers also recovered suspected crack-cocaine.

Just under $200 of merchandise was ultimately recovered. Loss prevention employees advised that the suspect had been responsible for multiple other unreported retail frauds at the store earlier in the week totaling $1,118.69.

The suspect was arrested for retail fraud and possession of a controlled substance. The suspect complained of chest pains and was transported to Trinity Oakland Health Hospital for evaluation. This case was presented to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for charges.