Police: Man Caught Stealing Cell Phones From Meijer

On July 15, an employee from the contacted the Livingston County Sheriff's department to report a case of retail fraud that involved cell phones.

According to the report, the Meijer employee explained that she had been contacted by a employee who had also been a victim of retail fraud involving stolen cell phones.

After checking their surveillance cameras, the Meijer employee said she saw the described suspect selecting and then concealing phones, according to the report. The suspect was then seen entering and exiting the store restroom and then leaving the store, according to the report.

Four phones estimated at $700 were reported stolen by the Meijer employee.

On July 20, the Hartland Meijer employee contacted police to report that the same suspect from the July 15 report was seen entering the store on surveillance cameras.

According to the report, the employee told police she had followed the suspect through the store and observed him concealing cell phones and saw him enter the store's restroom where she believed he was removing several cell phones from their packages.

Police say the Meijer employee contacted police again after the suspect left building. Police say they saw the suspect get into a Chevy Surburban driven by a different suspect while in the Meijer parking lot. 

According to the report, the suspect's vehicle was surrounded by several police cars and the driver and passenger were both taken into custody. 

After searching the passenger, police say they found two cell phones in the suspect's socks and three more cell phones plus accessories were found in the car's center console.

After questioning the passenger, police say the suspect told them he had stolen the cell phones to help pay for his drug habit. According to the report, the previous stolen phones were sold to a man in Jackson.

The case has been forwarded to the Livingston County Prosecutor's office for review.