Police Say Beverly Hills Man Targeted School Drop Offs for Purse Thefts

Police Say Beverly Hills Man Targeted School Drop Offs for Purse Thefts
(Birmingham Police, Jan. 24, 2015)
On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, at approximately 9 a.m., a suspect was taken into custody for stealing a purse out of a vehicle that was parked in the parking lot of Pierce Elementary School.
Information had been obtained last week regarding a possible suspect who was going to grade schools in the local area at times when parents were dropping off their children. The suspect would look for unlocked and unattended vehicles with women’s purses in them, usually on the front seat. The suspect would then enter the vehicle and steal the purse.
Investigators from the Multi-Jurisdictional Special Investigative Unit, comprised of officers from Troy, Birmingham, Auburn Hills and Bloomfield Twp. Police Departments, conducted surveillance on the suspect.
Investigators observed the suspect enter the Pierce Elementary School parking lot where he exited his vehicle and began looking into parked vehicles. Investigators then observed the suspect enter an unlocked vehicle and remove a purse from the front seat. He then concealed the purse under his jacket and returned to his vehicle. The suspect then drove out of the parking lot. Investigators followed him until they were several blocks away from the school. The vehicle was then stopped and the suspect taken into custody in the area of Birmingham Blvd. and Lincoln. The purse, containing cash and a cell phone, was recovered from the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect, Stephen Roy Homberger, 59 years of age out of Beverly Hills, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of Larceny from Motor Vehicle. On January 21, Homberger was arraigned at the 48TH District Court on the charges. Bond was set at $20,000 cash surety/no 10% and he was given a court date of February 3. Homberger was then lodged at the Oakland County Jail.
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