Shoplifter Flees Store, Crashes Car Into Tree

A man was arrested for retail fraud of the third degree after a loss prevention officer at Kohl's witnessed him concealing merchandise at 5 p.m. on Nov. 8, according to a police report.

The loss prevention officer said he saw the 29-year-old male from Detroit select a pair of shoes, put them on, then put his own shoes in the box and put them back on the shelf, the report said. The loss prevention officer also saw the man select three pairs of headphones and conceal them in his pants, the report said.

The loss prevention officer confronted the man when he left the store without paying, and the man immediately fled in his car, the report said.

The Northville Township Police went in search of the car and found it off the roadway, where it had struck a tree, the report said. The police officer saw a male running across the Bahama Breeze parking lot and activated his patrol unit siren to stop him, the report said. The man was then arrested for retail fraud.

During that time, the man began complaining that his eye hurt. He told police that the Kohl's loss prevention officer punched him in the face, the report said. When police asked the loss prevention officer about it, he said the arested man had taken several swings at him while they were near his car and he swung back in self defense, hitting the man's eye.