The suspect who allegedly ripped off thousands of dollars worth of global positioning systems (GPS) from Golling Pontiac in Orion Township won’t need any help knowing where he is in the world soon enough.
Prison is where Detroit resident Erik Tyus, a career criminal with a long list of prior convictions, will most likely end up, according to police officials.
‘He drove out here and broke into seven vehicles and took the wheels and tires off of one truck,? said Lt. Bruce Naile of the Oakland County Sheriff Department’s (OCSD) Orion substation.
Tyus, 35, allegedly stripped the seven vehicles of their GPS units, worth around $2,500.
At 4:47 a.m. on Nov. 25, OCSD deputies were dispatched to the car dealership on Lapeer Road concerning a larceny of auto parts in progress.
Police said Tyus was in a blue and silver van parked in the dealership lot when deputies arrived. Police ordered him out of the vehicle, but Tyus refused. Instead, he drove to the dealership entrance, which was blocked by a patrol car.
‘He refused to stop,? Naile said. ‘He drove past the officer and through a ditch.?
Tyus then fled north on M-24 with deputies in pursuit, eventually turning east on Clarkston Road. Tyus abandoned the van at the corner of Clarkston and Kern road, and attempted to escape on foot.
Deputies then followed the only set of prints in the snow coming from the van, which led them to the Polly Ann Trail.
They eventually tracked Tyus on the edge of the trail, hiding in the trees. According to police reports, Tyus took one look at the deputies and took off deeper into the woods.
Tyus was eventually apprehended on the trail. He was in possession of burglary tools, according to police. Deputies found more than $15,000 worth of stolen parts in the van.
Tyus is currently being held in the Oakland County Jail, where he will eventually be charged with larceny from an automobile, possession of burglary tools, fleeing arrest and driving under a suspended license. Items found in the van also link Tyus to a similar larceny from a car dealership in Wixom.
Tyus, who was also in violation of parole, has many prior convictions, from drugs to weapon felonies, including ten prior larceny convictions.