Suspect in string of 7-Eleven armed robberies charged
A man with a lengthy criminal history is charged in Ferndale for robbing a 7-Eleven store that police say was part of a string of similar holdups in Oakland and Macomb counties over a two- day period late last month.
Mark Darnell Diggs, 57, was arraigned Thursday in Ferndale 43rd District Court on counts of armed robbery, carrying a concealed weapon, and felony firearm charges.
He was jailed on $200,00 cash bond in the Oct. 24 robbery at the 7-Eleven in Ferndale at Nine Mile and Hilton Roads.
Ferndale police Officer Jill Mahlmeister said Diggs waited for a customer in the store to leave then pulled a handgun out of his pocket and demanded money from a clerk at the cash register..
“The suspect observed a Ferndale police scout car enter the parking lot and he quickly left the store on foot without any money,” she said in a statement.
The Ferndale officer entered the store and the clerk told him about the robbery. Mahlmeister said Ferndale police worked with police in Warren, who ultimately identified Diggs as a suspect and arrested him.
Diggs has already been arraigned on armed robbery charges for holdups at two 7-Eleven stores in Warren. Police in Warren said he held up a clerk at one store at Nine Mile and Schoenherr right after the Ferndale robbery. The next day he is accused of a robbing a clerk at another 7-Eleven on Nine Mile between Mound and Ryan roads, getting away with about $400 and 10 packs of cigarettes. Diggs was jailed on $400,000 cash bond late last month following his arraignment in Warren’s 37th District Court
He is also suspected of holding up 7-Eleven stores in Roseville and St. Clair Shores during the robbery spree.
Armed robbery is punishable by up to life in prison. Diggs is scheduled for a probable cause conference in Ferndale court at 1 p.m. Nov. 23.
His criminal history dates back to the 1980s and he served 13 years in prison for an unarmed robbery in Macomb County, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.
Diggs has also done time for other offenses in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb County.