Fingerprints on Duct Tape Led to Indictment of Suspected Radio Shack Robber
(C. Proxmire, July 11, 2014)
A 19-year-old Detroit man, Walter Smith, was indicted on two counts of Robbery Affecting Interstate Commerce and two counts of Using or Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Federal Crime of Violence. The charges stem from armed robberies of a Radio Shack store in Royal Oak on June 4 and in Royal Oak Township on June 30. The Federal Charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate.
The charges come from two in a series of Radio Shack robberies through the Metro Detroit area. Prosecutors say that on June 4, 2014, Smith, while armed, entered the Radio Shack located at 29160 Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, with two other men with pantyhose pulled over their faces, wearing hats and black hooded sweatshirts. The men duct taped the hands and eyes of two victim clerks and a store customer then departed the store with cell phones and cash from the register.
On June 30, 2014, Smith, along with another male, entered the Radio Shack located at 8896 West 8 Mile Road in Royal Oak Township, lured an employee to the back of the store, placed a gun to the back of the employee and tied the employee’s hands while the other male suspects stole cell phones from the backroom. The other two men have not been identified and are still at large.
Robberies also took place in Madison Heights and Roseville, but Smith was not indicted on those. In each robbery men with pantyhose over their face entered stores with at least one gun and terrorized customers and staff. Victims were handcuffed or tied, or forced into backrooms or closets. Often duct tape was placed over their eyes and mouths while the men raided the store for cell phones. According to various reports, it was the duct tape that did Smith in. After the Royal Oak robbery, prints were taken and Smith’s was among them.
If convicted of all charges, Smith faces a statutory mandatory minimum of thirty-two years in federal prison.
The case is being worked jointly by members of the FBI Oakland County Gang and Violent Crimes Task Force; the ATF, Michigan State Police and the Roseville, Sterling Heights, Madison Heights, and Royal Oak Police Departments. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeanine Brunson.
Previous Stories:
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2014/06/30/royal-oak-twp-radio-shack-latest-to-be-robbed_updated/
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2014/06/05/another-radio-shack-robbed-this-one-in-royal-oak/
https://oaklandcounty115.com/2014/06/02/madison-hts-police-seek-suspects-in-radio-shack-armed-robbery/