2 Florida men arrested in Alpena Co. for Home Depot crime spree

ALPENA COUNTY — Two men were arrested on charges of stealing almost $40,000 in goods from mostly Home Depot stores, the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

On June 1 at 3:10 p.m., the Home Depot in Alpena reported two males stole a large amount of power tools by leaving the store without paying.

Home Depot had an employee follow the men’s vehicle from Florida west on M-32 until it reached the area of Indian Reserve Road, deputies said. The employee then discontinued trailing the car, and officers from the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police searched the area, deputies said.

A sergeant with the Alpena County Sheriff’s office located the vehicle on M-32 near Jacks Landing Road in Green Township and pulled it over, deputies said.

Multiple power tolls were identified during the traffic stop as belonging to Home Depot, deputies said.

The driver and passenger were both arrested. They are both from Florida, officials said.

During a search of the vehicle, officers found a total of $34,960 in stolen power tools from six different Home Depot locations in Michigan, as well as $2,200 in merchandise stolen from TJ Maxx in Saginaw, deputies said.

The Alpena County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the U.S. Border Patrol in identifying the suspects, deputies said.