An out-of-state woman is in custody after a midday bank robbery at a Comerica branch on Van Dyke Avenue in Sterling Heights on Monday. Police say she handed a teller a note demanding cash, walked out with an undisclosed amount of money, and took off in a waiting vehicle. Officers later tracked her to Warren, where they arrested her the same day and recovered most of the cash.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, officers were called to the Comerica branch at 43020 Van Dyke at about 2:41 p.m. The outlet reports the suspect never pulled out a weapon, instead passing a note to the teller before leaving with the money. Investigators later learned the getaway car had been reported stolen out of Troy the previous day and was missing a license plate. Several pieces of evidence, and the majority of the stolen cash, were recovered when the suspect was taken into custody.
How investigators tracked the suspect
Detectives pulled nearby surveillance video and images of the vehicle to retrace the suspect’s path as she crossed into neighboring jurisdictions. The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office Auto Theft Unit notes that multi-jurisdictional teams and prosecutors regularly team up on stolen-vehicle cases, providing legal and investigative support when a chase jumps city lines. The Comerica Van Dyke branch at 43020 Van Dyke is a long-standing neighborhood bank, and its location, along with nearby businesses, often supplies the kind of camera coverage that helps investigators connect the dots.
Prosecution and next steps
Recommended charges are expected to be sent to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review, FOX 2 Detroit reports. Prosecutors will decide whether to file formal felony charges and which counts to pursue. The office’s public materials explain that prosecutors review police reports and evidence before moving ahead with filings. As of the latest update, no formal charges or court dates had been announced.
Local context
Bank robbery cases in Macomb County often move quickly once a suspect is identified. As reported by Hoodline, a previous Sterling Heights case that resulted in charges, in which a man faces a life sentence, highlighted how quickly investigators and prosecutors can move from the scene of a robbery to a formal charging decision.
Anyone with information about Monday's incident is asked to contact Sterling Heights police at their non-emergency line, 586-446-2800, or reach out through the department’s official channels. The Sterling Heights Police Department’s contact details are listed on the city’s website.
