Identity theft suspect apprehended at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi after 100 mph car chase

Duo arrested in connection to southeast Michigan mail theft racket

Lonnie Shumaker (WDIV)

NOVI, Mich. – A car chase in Novi ended a monthlong investigation into a series of mail thefts across Metro Detroit.

Lonnie Shumaker and Emilie Boggs are being charged will mail theft, bank fraud, conspiracy and identity theft.

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On Dec. 26, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) was notified that mail was stolen from over 50 postal customers in the Falls of Northville subdivision in Northville.

Fingerprints recovered from a mailbox that had been tampered with matched Shumaker's prints. According to authorities, money orders taken from the mailbox had allegedly been cashed by Boggs into her Michigan Educational Credit Union account.

On Jan. 7, Shumaker was identified after being captured on surveillance video taking mail from a Northville home on Pierson Drive.

Police said they began surveillance on Boggs and Shumaker, who share a residence in Livonia. A warrant for a GPS tracker for Boggs' car was obtained.

On Jan. 24, authorities witnessed Shumaker get out of his vehicle and take mail from a home's mailbox off Newburgh Road in Westland and a package from a home off Harrier Place in Novi. When approached by authorities, Shumaker fled northbound on Wixom Road at speeds reaching 100 mph. Novi police were able to track Shumaker through electronic surveillance; he was apprehended outside of Twelve Oaks Mall.

Shumaker and Bogg's residence and vehicle were searched the same day after a warrant was obtained. Police said checkbooks, a Social Security card, a passport and more than 374 pieces of mail were seized.

USPIS said mail and packages were stolen from Salem Township, Canton Township, South Lyon, Novi, Northville, Plymouth and Ann Arbor. Court documents said one victim reported that a replacement Visa card was stolen and approximately $1,800 was fraudulently charged to his account.

Shumaker and Boggs are being charged with mail theft, bank fraud, conspiracy and identity theft.