Tribal police officers recently pulled over a Chevy Impala for a mud-covered registration tag driven by Zachary Carland, 25, while Christopher Maurice Shaub, 25, both of Macomb County, Michigan, was in the passenger seat.  During the routine traffic stop, they ended up discovering the two were robbery suspects and recovered a Purple Heart medal stolen from a home among many other valuables.  Officers asked Carland, who didn’t have any identification on him, to step out of the vehicle and consent to a search during which they discovered a vial of methamphetamine in his right pants pocket.  Schaub dropped a 13.5-inch non-folding, double-bladed Marine knife from a holster as he was asked to get out of the car.The following day, as an investigation continued, the Clare County Sheriff’s Office called about several larcenies that happened there, including one in which a woman claimed her daughter had Carland over and after his visit, some items in the home went missing.  These included a checkbook, tools, jewelry, and the Purple Heart medal inscribed with the name “Hartwick T. French.”  Among the other stolen items reportedly recovered in the vehicle were coins, watches, a shadowbox and an iPod.  Carland told officers he didn’t steal the items himself but got them from someone else.  However, a prybar was also discovered which is commonly used to commit break ins.

Photo by Jay Heike on Unsplash

Carland was ultimately charged with “possession of meth (a 10-year/$15,000 felony) receiving/concealing stolen property (a five-year/$10,000 felony), possession of burglary tools (a 10-year felony) and two counts of assaulting/resisting officers during his arrest (two-year/$2,000 felony),” according to records.  Schaub was charged with “possession of a concealed weapon.”Meanwhile, two other Michigan robbery suspects, Brandon McClure, 18, and Daniel Rae, 19, were charged with federal crimes after authorities reported they committed nine break-ins during which they stole 56 guns at stores in Macomb, Livingston, Lenawee, and Ingham counties.  While committing a break in at At Not Just Guns in Mason, Michigan, federal officials said the crime was recorded on surveillance cameras, and the men were later matched with this footage.The last burglary attempt in the string occurred in late December in Eaton County at Men of Arms where police arrived and arrested McClure and a juvenile suspect after a brief chase ensued, police said.  Agents obtained search warrants for several homes in Jackson and Leslie, Michigan, registered to the robbery suspects and discovered “clothing matching the robbery suspects recorded on surveillance videos of the break-ins, dozens of price tags from the various shops that were robbed and three guns that were reported stolen in the burglaries,” according to records.  McClure and Rae have both been charged with “conspiring to steal guns from a federal firearms licensee” and they are in federal custody awaiting trial.James Deir, appointed Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Detroit Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by Deputy Director Thomas E. Brandon in January 2018, said that anyone who purchased a gun needs to surrender the weapon or they will also face federal charges.  Authorities should be contacted immediately.

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Christmas Day traffic stop results in recovery of a Purple Heart medal reported stolen2 teens accused of breaking in Michigan gun stores, allegedly stole 56 gunsTwo men charged with stealing 56 guns across SE Michigan