BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Police have identified the accused thief who was easily tracked down using the “Find My Phone” app after throwing an Uber driver out of his car in Birmingham without realizing the man’s second phone was still inside.
Police were called around 11:35 p.m. Thursday (March 30) to the area of North Old Woodward Avenue and Hamilton Road.
A 74-year-old Uber driver from Troy told officers that he had been parked on Old Woodward Avenue, north of Hamilton Road, when someone opened his driver’s door and attacked him.
The suspected thief, who has now been identified as Maurice William Hobby, pulled the driver out of the car before getting inside and heading north on Old Woodward Avenue, according to authorities.
The 74-year-old man said he was not injured.
Officers learned that the 74-year-old man’s second cellphone was still inside the stolen car. They used the “Find My Phone” app to track the car to northbound Lahser and Square Lake roads in Bloomfield Township.
Police from Bloomfield Township found the car and tried to pull it over, but Hobby began to flee the scene, authorities said. He lost control and crashed into a guardrail, they said.
Birmingham officers took Hobby into custody without further incident.
Hobby, 38, has been charged with carjacking. He is being held on $250,000 cash bond.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday (April 11) at 48th District Court.
Officials said he has multiple other charges pending from 22nd District Court in Inkster, including fleeing and eluding and driving with a suspended license.
