BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WWJ) -- The search is on for a man who police say stole beer and chips from a grocery store before trying to do the same at another store just minutes later.
Bloomfield Township police were called to the Kroger store located near Maple and Lahser Roads around 2 p.m. Saturday on the report of retail fraud. The Kroger manager says the suspect left the store with two cases of beer and several bags of chips without paying for them.
The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6-feet-tall, with glasses. He fled northbound on Lahser in a gray GMC SUV.
Less than a half hour later, Bloomfield Township police were called to another Kroger store for a similar incident, this one on Telegraph Road near Long Lake Road -- less than five miles away from the other store.
Employees at the second store say they recognized a man who was wanted for past retail fraud incidents walk in and fill his shopping cart with merchandise, including beer and chips.
The man concealed the items under a newspaper and made a beeline for the doors.
The suspect realized he was being watched and ran out of the store without the merchandise. Officers located the suspect leaving the parking lot in a GMC Yukon and attempted to stop the vehicle, but were unsuccessful.
Police say the suspect descriptions in both cases matched up and it is believed the same man is responsible for both incidents.
Anyone who has any information about the alleged Kroger thief is urged to call the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248-433-7755.