Contact: Sgt. Joy Matthews
Email: joy.matthews@kentcountymi.gov
Supervisor Approval: Sgt. Andy Kozal
Case Number: 20-147608
Incident Type: Armed Robbery

UPDATE on 11/25/2020 at 5:00 PM: The Kent County Prosecutor's Office issued charges of conducting criminal enterprises (CCE) and armed robbery on a 17-year-old male from Grand Rapids, as a result of the armed robbery that occurred at T-Mobile in Gaines Township. Additionally, three juveniles were placed on a hold with charges of armed robbery pending.

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UPDATE on 11/25/2020 at 3:30 PM: On November 24, 2020 at approximately 8:15 PM, plain clothes officers were in the area of Alpine Avenue and 9^th Street NW, following up on recent cellular phone store robberies in Grand Rapids and Gaines Township. It was believed that the same subjects were involved in both incidents. Information from the Gaines Township robbery led officers to the Alpine and 9^th location.

While officers were in the area they observed four subjects matching the description of the involved parties in the robberies. One of the subjects fled on foot into a residence and the other three fled into a retail store, in the 900 block of Alpine NW. The suspect who fled into the residence was apprehended shortly thereafter, after a successful K-9 track. The remaining three subjects inside the store were initially confronted by the owner. The owner eventually exited the store unharmed. The subjects remained in the store and would not immediately exit upon requests by officers. After a lengthy negotiation, the subjects exited the store shortly after 11:00 PM and surrendered without incident to the MSP Emergency Support Team. There were no injuries in this incident. The subjects involved were all young males and all were interviewed by investigators.

This is a joint investigation by the Grand Rapids Police Department and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Michigan State Police. Detectives are continuing to follow-up on investigative leads and applicable charges will be determined in consultation with the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department at 616.456.3380, Kent County Sheriff’s Office at 616.632.6125, or through Silent Observer at 616.774.2345 or www.silentobserver.org.

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GAINES TOWNSHIP, MICH. (Nov. 24, 2020) - On 11/24/2020 at 7:40 PM, deputies from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to an armed robbery that occurred at T-Mobile, located at 6755 Kalamazoo Ave SE in Gaines Township. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle after stealing merchandise from the store. The suspects were located in the City of Grand Rapids a short time later and taken into custody during a separate incident. The investigation is still on-going and involves multiple police agencies. Additional information about the suspects and incidents will be available tomorrow.