DETROIT – An unsuspecting thief tried selling stolen property to an off-duty officer who recently worked the breaking-and-entering case where the property was stolen from, police say.
Officer Lynn Woods had just wrapped up his midnight shift Thursday when he went to his favorite Coney Island restaurant for breakfast. He spent part of the early morning watching surveillance video of a man breaking into a Family Dollar store at Dexter and Fullerton avenues.
While off duty and not in uniform, Woods was approached by a man with a sales pitch at the restaurant.
“He said, ‘Hey, I’m selling some clippers. I’m selling this. What you need?'" Woods said.
The thief’s face was still fresh in his mind, and he immediately recognized the salesman from the surveillance video.
Woods haggled with the man while he waited for backup to arrive.
“That’s when the scout car pulled in,” Woods said. “When they were walking in, I just pulled out my badge and told him to put his hands behind his back.”
Archie Howell, 45, was taken into custody.