Crooks Use Rental Truck To Smash Through Front Of Secretary Of State Office
DETROIT (WWJ) - Authorities say a rented pick-up truck was used to smash through the front of a Secretary of State branch office in metro Detroit.
The incident happened early Wednesday morning at the SOS branch at Joy and Beech Daly roads in Redford.
Police say the suspect used a rented U-Haul to smash through a section of the storefront, leaving shattered glass and bricks littered across the ground.
At this point, it's not clear if the crook made off with anything.
Secretary of State Spokeswoman Gisgie Gendreau said the incident caused extensive damage to the office, which will now be closed on Wednesday for cleanup.
"We do still need to assess the damage and figure out what repairs need to be made," Gendreau told WWJ's Ron Dewey. "We are encouraging our customers to try our online services first at ExpressSOS.com, where they can do most of our most popular transactions. If they still do need to go to a branch, they can find the closest one at Michigan.gov/sos."
In 2014, there was a rash of smash-and-grab robberies at Secretary of State offices in the Detroit area.
In Oct. 2014, thieves drove through the front of the SOS branch on Schafer in east Dearborn and made off with the ATM. Then, a month later, crooks stole an ATM from a SOS branch on 7 Mile Road in northwest Detroit after firing a barrage of bullets in the parking lot and smashing through the storefront. And just days before Christmas, suspects drove a minivan through the SOS branch on Bagley Avenue in southwest Detroit, making off with the ATM.
