“They’re very much people of interest,” said Detective Vince Mason of Kettering Police Department, who is already working with detectives in the Cleveland area on potential links to break-ins at Apple stores in Kettering and near Dayton Mall in Miami Twp.
Pending arraignment in Preble County, Michael White, 26; Tariq Weaver, 21; Tariq Hicks, 32; and Tony Cox, 23; all of Rochester, N.Y., are being held without bond on charges of possession of criminal tools and receiving stolen property.
“We believe the stolen items may have come from Bloomington, Ind.,” said Lt. Rudy Zupanc of the Ohio Highway Patrol. “It appears as if all four suspects were still wearing the clothing that was captured on the store video surveillance.”
At 9 a.m. Friday, almost four hours after the Bloomington break-in, a state trooper noticed an SUV in the Pilot truck stop parking lot on U.S. 127, just off Interstate 70, failed to match the license registration.
A small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were detected by a sheriff’s office K-9 unit.
Weaver is also charged with tampering with evidence, drug abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Also inside the car, detectives found Apple products, including iPads, laptop computers and accessories, valued at $15,000, in the rear cargo area.
The Apple merchandise was traced to a break-in reported at 5:39 a.m. Friday at the MacExperience on North Walnut Street in Bloomington, police said.
The search also turned up ski masks, black clothing, gloves and hat lights, as well as plastic tubs and a hammer – tools allegedly used in two smash-and-grabs in the past two weeks at the Mactown near Dayton Mall.
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