Feeds3 charged in theft of city property
Three Belleville men accused of stealing a car and two computers from the Westland Department of Public Service (DPS) yard will be in court next Thursday.
According to Lt. James Ridener of the Westland Police Department, at about 9 p.m. on July 18 the men drove up to the DPS yard—located at 37137 Marquette—and stole a Ford Crown Victoria used by Westland Fire Department personnel.
Using the car as a battering ram, the thieves broke through the chain link fence gate guarding the perimeter and entered the yard. Once inside, the thieves entered two police cars that were on the premises for servicing and stole the on-board computer from each. At that point, Ridener said, the men left the yard and took both computers and the Crown Victoria with them.
One of the men allegedly involved in the incident attempted to sell the vehicle to an undercover Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy. The man, 19-year-old Michael Gary Dunstan of Belleville, was arrested in connection to the incident on July 21 , and according to Ridener, he soon confessed that he had driven the car through the fence.
Dunstan also implicated two other men in the theft. Westland police later arrested 18-year-old Rickey Edward Hilton, Jr. and 23-year-old Scott David Matthews—both of Belleville—for allegedly taking part in the incident.
Ridener said Hilton confessed that he recently entered the DPS yard as part of his job as a water meter contract worker and, after seeing the computers in the cars, hatched a plan to steal and sell them. Matthews allegedly confessed to driving the other men to the site.
All three men were arraigned at the 18th District Court in Westland on Monday. Each of them face one count of unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle—a five-year felony—and two counts of breaking and entering a vehicle to steal property valued at more $1,000 and less than $20,000. Each felony count could also involve a fine of $10,000 or three times the value of the property, whichever is greater.
In addition, Dunstan was charged with malicious destruction of fire or police property, which is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
At the time of their arraignments, Dunstan and Matthew were both issued a bond of $100,000 or 10 percent, which neither had posted on Tuesday. Hilton’s bond was set at $50,000 or 10 percent, but had not been posted.
All three men are scheduled to return to the court on Aug. 3 for a preliminary hearing to establish whether or not there is probable cause to justify a trial. In the meanwhile, a plea of not guilty has been entered for each of the men.
Police have recovered all of the stolen items, including a computer retrieved after Westland police executed a search warrant in an Ypsilanti Township home. Damage to the gate is estimated at $1,600. The cost of the damage to the fire department vehicle was unavailable at press time.
