Police say they have caught the man who stole packages from homes and UPS drivers in multiple cities. It went beyond theft, as police say the man was getting increasingly violent.
Local 4 spoke to both Southfield and Detroit police, who said UPS drivers can breathe a little easier now that the man targeting them was arrested.
Police said this isn’t just about packages but getting someone they believe is dangerous off the streets.
“We were able to identify the fact that this suspect was good for at least eight incidents in our city,” said Detroit police Chief James White.
That’s just in Detroit, and it was going on for months. White said in at least two of those cases, William Lewis targeted UPS drivers with a knife or taser.
“I believe in one incident, he actually robbed a driver after he took the package,” White said. “Personal items that the driver had on him. So as you can see that this was going to gradually get more and more violent, and someone could have been injured. We may, in fact, have prevented, you know, a murder.”
Their big break in the case came from Southfield police Monday (March 6) when they were called after Ring camera footage showed a man stealing a package and a vehicle Southfield police Chief Elvin Barren says has distinguishing marks. They then put out an alert to other agencies.
“Detroit police to crime intelligence unit picked up on the information we do that information and determine that it’s the same suspect has committed crimes in the City of Detroit as it relates to armed robbers,” said Barren.
Three days later, they found him near 9 Mile and Southfield roads while pumping gas with his children inside the vehicle.
“Inside of that vehicle was multiple pieces of evidence to other crimes across the city,” Barren said.
Williams is facing multiple charges.
“He was released on bond for the robbery arm,” White said. “We got him in custody again last night with our fugitive apprehension team on the larceny warrant. So he’s in custody right now.”
They hope he stays in custody and a judge does not give him another bond.
Barren really stressed how valuable it was that those victims called the police as soon as they realized their package was stolen because it did make a difference in catching this man quickly.
