Royal Oak Police Chase Ends in Ferndale

(Lieutenant David Clemens, Royal Oak Police Dept, Oct. 1, 2013)

On September 30, 2013, at approximately 4:25 a.m., Royal Oak officers observed a suspicious vehicle, a white Ford pick up truck, in the area of Fourteen Mile and Coolidge.

When the suspect in the vehicle saw the officers, he turned off his headlights and entered the residential neighborhood west of Coolidge in an attempt to elude the officers. Royal Oak officers caught up to the suspect vehicle and activated their emergency equipment and a pursuit ensued. The suspect continued through the neighborhood to Woodward and fled southbound on Woodward from Normandy reaching speeds of approaching 90 miles per hour.

At Eleven Mile and Woodward a Royal Oak officer successfully deployed a tire deflation device and disabled two tires on the passenger side of the vehicle.  Despite having two deflated tires, the suspect continued south on Woodard into Ferndale.

At Woodward and Nine Mile, a Ferndale officer again successfully deployed a tire deflation device, disabling the remaining two tires.  The suspect eventually stopped his vehicle at Woodward and Jewel in the City of Ferndale and was taken into custody without incident.

A search of the vehicle revealed stolen property from the Royal Oak Meijer store located at 5150 Coolidge.

The 42-year-old suspect, Martin Markowitz from Redford Township, was arraigned before the Honorable Judge Terrence Brennan of the 44^th District Court on the charges of Fleeing and Eluding a Police Officer Second Degree, Larceny in a Building, Retail Fraud First Degree, Driving While License Suspended II and Reckless Driving. Bond was set at $100,000.00 no 10%. The pre-trial conference is set for October 4, 2013 at 09:00 a.m.

The suspect has a lengthy criminal history including convictions for Fleeing and Eluding, Larceny from a Building, and Larceny from a Motor Vehicle.

The Royal Oak Police Department would like to thank the Ferndale Police Department, the Michigan State Police and the Berkley Police Department for their assistance with this incident. All officers involved worked as a team and used good tactics to bring this dangerous pursuit to a safe conclusion.