FROM P.K. JOHNSON
CHIEF OF MILLBROOK POLICE DEPARTMENT
On Friday, January 3, 2020, Millbrook police officers responded to the 1100 block of Highway 14 with regard to a suspicious vehicle that had possibly been involved in two thefts committed at the business on January 1, 2020. The clerk gave police communications a description of the vehicle’s occupant, which very closely matched the description of the suspect from Wednesday. As responding officers approached the business the suspect fled eastbound parallel to Highway 14 and adjacent businesses. Officers saturated the area and began searching for the suspect.
A short time later a patrol officer observed a subject matching the suspect’s description, just off Highway 14, on Kelley Blvd. The subject attempted to flee but he was quickly apprehended without incident. Michael D. Smith, a 42 year old Montgomery resident, was placed under arrest on (2) felony theft warrants stemming from thefts committed at the business on January 1st. Smith was transported to the Millbrook Police Department for processing and later transported to the Elmore County Jail being charged with Theft of Property 1st Degree and Theft of Property 2nd Degree. Smith remains in custody under a $7,500.00 bond.
I am extremely proud of everyone involved in this investigation and the apprehension of the offender in this case. This subject walked into the victim business on January 1, 2020, at approximately 3:00 PM. While the clerk was waiting on customers and distracted, this individual entered a storage room and removed several thousand dollars worth of merchandise. He was able to leave the business undetected. The offender reentered the business again, at approximately 5:36 PM, at which time he was able to remove even more merchandise from the storage room. This time the theft was witnessed by a customer, who reported the incident to the clerk.
The business reported the theft to the Millbrook Police Department on January 2, 2020. They were able to produce surveillance video which captured both incidents of theft. Investigators from the department’s Criminal Investigative Unit were able to identify the offender utilizing the video provided by the business. Warrants for the offender’s arrest were obtained earlier today. Officers were actively looking for the offender at the time we received a call that he’d possibly returned to the business.
A clerk at the business, who had been given a description of the offender, observed an individual that they believed to be the offender. They immediately contacted the police department, alerting us to their description and whereabouts. The clerk was alert, concise with the information that they relayed to our communications officer, and their actions most certainly assisted our officers in responding to the area and ultimately apprehending the offender.
I want to commend our investigators for their work in this case. This offender was identified, warrants obtained and we were actively attempting to locate this individual in less than 24 hours from the time the case was assigned to them. Our officers were able to respond to the business, set up a perimeter after the suspect fled and he was apprehended in short order. From the customer that initially reported the theft, the observant clerk that called tonight, the communications officers, investigators and the responding patrol officers, everyone involved did an outstanding Job!
In closing, if these people want to continue coming into this city thinking they are going to commit these type of crimes and run back down the interstate unchecked…….. Our citizens are watching you. Most of our businesses have good surveillance videos. Our investigators, officers, and staff take great pride in protecting this community and apprehending criminals committing crime in our city. Think again! You may well end up like the offender in this case. He thought he got away, but we were already hunting him when he returned to this city to commit yet another theft. When officers were closing in he chose to run like a coward. He went to jail tired!
