A still-unfolding mail fraud investigation by Canton police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service already has led to criminal charges against two suspects arraigned Friday in 35th District Court.
“We have retrieved a large collection of mail (allegedly stolen) from locations in Canton and many area cities,” Detective Sgt. Dave Schreiner said Friday.
Charges against Lee Andrew Qualls, 42, and Herman Robinson III, 35, came after a Canton resident notified police Tuesday, April 3, and reported a suspicious vehicle approaching mailboxes in the Cherry Hill-Beck Road area, Schreiner said.
http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html
Police stopped the vehicle and started questioning the pair of suspects, who suddenly sped off and led authorities on a chase that ended in a shopping center parking lot near Michigan Avenue and Canton Center, Schreiner said.
The suspects abandoned the car and tried to flee on foot, prompting an officer to use a Taser gun against one of the men as he resisted arrest, according to police.
Qualls, the accused driver, was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree fleeing and eluding police, a 10-year felony; stealing or retaining without consent a financial transaction device, a four-year felony; larceny between $1,000 and $20,000, a five-year felony; forging a driver’s license with the intent to commit a crime, a five-year felony; assaulting, resisting and obstructing a police officer, punishable by two years in jail; and operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license, a misdemeanor.
Qualls, who gave authorities a Valleyview, Ohio, address, was arraigned as a four-time habitual offender, meaning he could face penalties ranging up to life in prison if he is convicted.
Robinson, who gave an Ypsilanti address, was charged with assaulting, resisting and obstructing a police officer and being a habitual offender, second offense. If convicted, he could face penalties ranging up to three years in prison.
In court Friday, Canton Detective Jeremy Quinn told 35th District Judge Michael Gerou the charges against Qualls and Robinson came as Canton police and U.S. postal authorities continue to investigate a mail fraud case.
Gerou set a $500,000/10 percent bond for Qualls, meaning he would have to post $50,000 to leave jail. Robinson’s bond was set at $50,000/10 percent, an amount requiring $5,000 for his release.
Gerou entered not-guilty pleas for the defendants and ordered them back in court for an April 27 preliminary examination to determine if they should stand trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.
