MONROE TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - A 32-year-old suspect from Detroit was apprehended by deputies who pursued him across the Ohio border for a string of crimes at a Michigan Welcome Center on Monday, including an alleged sexual assault on an 80-year-old man.
Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said deputies were made aware of several concerning incidents at the Michigan Welcome Center on northbound I-75 in Monroe Township at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 10.
"Monroe County Central Dispatch received reports of a suspect grabbing several males by the genitals in the bathroom at the Welcome Center before physically attacking and sexually assaulting an 80-year-old Melvindale, Michigan man in the lobby and dragging him into the bathroom," Goodnough said in a press release.
Bystanders and other witnesses at the center immediately jumped in to help the elderly victim, authorities added, but the suspect ran from the Welcome Center, crossed I-75 on foot and got into a vehicle parked on the southbound median shoulder.
According to Goodnough, Deputy Andrew Boski was the first to arrive at the scene and found the male suspect inside a silver Chevrolet Impala. The man took off in his car, fleeing south towards Ohio, with Boski in pursuit.
By the time the suspect crossed the border, Boski was joined by Officer Frank Nadeau from the Erie Township Police Department and the two continued to chase the suspect until the Impala ran out of gas just north of I-280.
The suspect, identified only as a 32-year-old man from Detroit, was arrested without further incident.
Officers from the Toledo Police Department arrived to help and lodged the man in the Lucas County Jail. The suspect is currently awaiting extradition to Michigan on the alleged crimes that occurred at the Welcome Center, as well as fleeing and eluding.
The Detroit native's identity was not released by police pending his formal arraignment.
The sheriff said Monday's incidents are still under investigation. Anyone with any information has been asked to contact detectives with the Macomb County Sheriff's Office at 734-240-7530.