FeedsSerial robbery suspects face trial
A brother and sister accused of robberies in Wayne, Westland, and Canton Township will face trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Wayne residents Michael James Stachowski, 28, and his sister, Megan Morley Sills, 24, waived their preliminary hearings on armed robbery charges Sept. 30 at 29th District Court in Wayne and on armed robbery and commission of a felony with a motor vehicle charges last Friday at 35th District Court in Plymouth.
During a preliminary hearing, a prosecutor must convince a judge that there is sufficient evidence to warrant sending the matter to trial.
Stachowski did go through with a preliminary hearing on Oct. 2 at 18th District Court in Westland, but he was ultimately bound over for trial there, too. Bond in the case remained at $500,000 cash.
The siblings caught the interest of police after the Sept. 14 robbery of Richardson’s Pharmacy on Ford Road in Canton.
Stachowski is accused of presenting a store clerk with a note indicating that he had a gun and demanding that money be placed in a bag. Sills is accused of driving the getaway car after the successful robbery.
Shortly after the incident, Sgt. Debra Newsome of the Canton Township Police Department said that several witnesses had come forward to tell police that they had seen a woman get out of her vehicle and cover up the license plate with a bag. Suspicious, one of the witnesses decided to document the situation.
“He actually took a picture with a cell phone camera,” said Newsome at the time.
A similar robbery, which Westland police have attributed to Stachowski allegedly acting alone, took place on Sept. 17 at the CVS store located on the corner of Wayne and Palmer roads in Westland.
The photograph from Canton ultimately led to the arrest of the siblings on Sept. 18 after Ofc. Steve Jaworski of the Westland Police Department spotted a car that looked like the vehicle used in commission of the robbery in the parking lot of Curtis Woods Park on Palmer Road.
After Stachowski’s arrest, Westland Sgt. Thad Nelson said that Stachowski had admitted to committing the robberies in Westland and Canton as well as to robberies that occurred at the Rite Aid on the corner of Wayne Road and Michigan Avenue in Wayne and the CVS store on Van Born Road in Wayne. Officers also found the wig, hat, and note used in the robberies in the home shared by the siblings.
A not guilty plea has been offered on behalf of both suspects.
Armed robbery carries a penalty of up to life in prison. If convicted of the motor vehicle charge, the punishment would be the suspension of the defendant’s driver’s license.
