K-9 unit sniffs out carjacking suspect
A man accused of fleeing police in a carjacked vehicle had a hearing Monday in Royal Oak 44th District Court and was ordered to stand trial.
Andre Jacobs, 57, is accused of carjacking a vehicle in Southfield on Dec. 19 before he was seen in Royal Oak.
A Royal Oak K-9 unit officer was on patrol with police dog Jesse about 1:50 a.m. and was aware of the carjacking in nearby Southfield and the vehicle’s description, police said.
The officer was driving west on 14 Mile Road near Coolidge when he spotted the stolen vehicle.
“He attempted to stop the suspect, who fled from the officer,” said Royal Oak police Lt. Albert Carter.
The chase continued along 14 Mile and the suspect slowed the vehicle down and jumped out of the moving car, Carter said.
The suspect was fleeing on foot when the K-9 unit got out of their patrol vehicle and pursued him near 14 Mile and Southfield roads in a residential area.
Officers and K- 9 Jesse, who has worked in the department for five years, tracked the suspect.
“They found the suspect hiding in a garage beneath a vehicle in Beverly Hills,” Carter said.
Jacobs was arrested.
As a reward for helping find the suspect, Jesse got to play with a ball toy for several minutes. Like other working police dogs, Jesse only gets access to the special ball when he successfully completes a task or finds a target, Carter said. Jacobs is charged in Royal Oak with felony counts of thirddegree fleeing and eluding police, and receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle. Each of the two counts is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The suspect is also charged with a misdemeanor of obstructing police.
Jacobs waived his right Monday to a preliminary examination in Royal Oak court and was ordered to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court.
He is scheduled to be arraigned for trial before Circuit Judge Leo Bowman at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5.
Jacobs has more than a dozen felony convictions on his record and served time in prison. He was paroled in July 2019, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.
Police said the suspect’s criminal history includes felony convictions for a weapons offense, breaking and entering, stolen property, home invasion, drugs, and theft in a building.
He remains jailed on $15,000, 10 percent bond.