Armed robbery manhunt sends AK Steel, Ford Rouge plants into lockdown

Ford, AK Steel no longer locked down

DEARBORN, Mich. – A manhunt for an armed robbery suspect put the AK Steel and Ford Rouge plants into lockdown Thursday.

A massive police presence was at the steel plant as they searched for hours.

ORIGINAL STORY: Dearborn police searching for armed robbery suspect on AK Steel property

According to authorities, Garden City police chased a robbery suspect to the AK Steel Plant, where he ditched his truck. Surveillance cameras from the scene captured him running into the steel mill and police believed he had a gun.

The steel mill was put on lockdown and many employees were stuck for hours as police searched.

Video from Liquor Express on Cherry Hill Road captured a man grab lottery tickets and flee. No gun is seen in the video.

For hours, he was nowhere to be found.

Police said the suspect is a 37-year-old man from Lincoln Park that recently moved to Detroit. He was on parole and was recently released from prison in March.

Police said he was convicted of retail fraud, larceny in a building, possession of cocaine, auto theft and fleeing from police.

Ford had locked down all buildings at its Rouge site for several hours to keep workers safe, but that lockdown has since been lifted. AK Steel is inside the gates at the Rouge site, but is not a Ford facility.

The suspect was taken into custody later Thursday afternoon.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.