FORT GRATIOT TWP. (WWJ) - Four Detroit teenagers are facing charges after a jewelry store robbery and police chase in St. Clair County.
The incident unfolded around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Birchwood Mall in Fort Gratiot Township. Three suspects allegedly smashed a glass counter at a Kay Jewelers store and took handfuls of jewelry before they ran out of the mall and sped off in a red Chevrolet Impala, which was waiting outside.
Police eventually located the vehicle in the area of Gratiot Avenue and Hancock Street in Port Huron, but the suspects refused to stop and a short chase ensued. The suspects finally stopped in the area of Riverside Drive and I-94, where three got out of the vehicle and fled on foot. Two were captured almost immediately, along with a suspect that had remained in the vehicle. The fourth suspect was caught a short time later, a short distance away.
Police say all suspects were in custody within 20 minutes of the call of the robbery.
The suspects, three 17-year-olds and a 19-year-old, are lodged at the St. Clair County Intervention and Detention Center, where they're awaiting arraignment on robbery and other charges.