Mustang GT500 theft suspect didn’t know helicopter was watching, led MSP to stolen Raptor

Michigan State Police confirmed Thursday that officers used a helicopter and several patrol cars to arrest three men suspected of stealing a new 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor pickup, a Mustang GT500 and other vehicles.

Local police alerted the Detroit Regional Communications Center about 9 p.m. Wednesday that people wearing ski masks had stolen some vehicles in Dearborn, and troopers raced to the site where the vehicles were spotted, MSP Lt. Mike Shaw told the Detroit Free Press.

“They found one of them on the Southfield Freeway, driving northbound,” he said.

That suspect drove to a home on Asbury Park in Detroit as the helicopter flew overhead, keeping the suspect in sight. The individual got out of the vehicle and climbed into another car to leave, Shaw said.

“They didn’t know the helicopter was overhead,” he said. “That happens all the time.”

Troopers on the ground stopped the vehicle and took one suspect into custody. Two more suspects were located at the home. Their identification was not released pending charges and arraignment.

Police also found a couple other vehicles in the backyard, including one of the Mustang GT500 vehicles stolen back in June from Flat Rock Assembly, a few sets of keys and a stolen AR-15 rifle, Shaw said.

He didn’t have immediate access to paperwork saying whether the latest recovered vehicles were taken from a factory or dealer lot.

Earlier F-150 thefts

In June, an estimated $1 million worth of new 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor pickup trucks were stolen from a Dearborn Truck Plant storage lot.

Ford reported the missing high-performance trucks, which have a base model price of $69,905, on June 10 with multiple calls to police during that weekend.

Dearborn police recovered 13 vehicles, mostly in Detroit and a couple of them in Dearborn.

On Thursday, Bilal Baydoun, city of Dearborn spokesman, told the Free Press the police are working with Wayne County prosecutors on the pending investigation involving the earlier theft of 13 vehicles.