Michigan Man Turns Friend In For $20,000
We've all heard the cliche line "if you can't do the time then do the crime" or some variation of that phrase. I agree, I don't think you should commit any crime that you're not okay being caught doing and you should be ready to serve the necessary time if you get caught. With that being said, there's another factor that many people don't think about before engaging in criminal activity, it's who they commit the crimes with or who they spill the crimes to.
I couldn't imagine doing a crime with anyone, I just prefer to do my dirt alone and it seems safer right? There are fewer people involved, which means fewer people in harm's way, and fewer people who know the truth. The more people that are present or that know about a crime the higher the chances of the perpetrator(s) going down. As these guys in the Detroit area found this out the hard way this past week.
Alleged Crimes Committed
Just last week there were a series of crimes that were allegedly committed by a group of men in two Michigan cities. The first couple of incidents happened in Westland, Michigan, and involved both a gun store and a CVS. The Freedom Holster Gun Shop was robbed first, as the alleged crashed a stolen KIA SUV through the front of the store in the late hours of the night. They would proceed to run in and take multiple guns before fleeing on foot. They were inside for less than one minute and were estimated to have stolen 50 or more guns.
Their next stop was a CVS pharmacy in Westland, which was only about 5.7 miles from the Freedom Holster Gun Shop. This was also a quick stop as they broke into the vacant store, made their way through, and left back on foot with multiple bottles of alcohol. Authorities were able to obtain security camera footage from both incidents and concluded that at least one of the men was wearing the same clothing in both videos.
That's not where this wild reign of theft ends, instead, they move to the next town over. They made their way to a pawn shop by the name of CC Coins Jewelry and Loan in Dearborn heights. They crashed a stolen Dodge Journey into the front of the shop and were estimated to have taken 22 or more firearms, after reviewing security camera footage authorities say at least one of the men was wearing the same clothing as one of the men during the Freedom Holster Gun Shop robbery.
Just 19 hours later a stolen Chevrolet Equinox was driven through the front of the same store and more guns were taken from the pawn shop. This time they made trips taking firearms to a getaway car multiple times before finally fleeing 15 mins later with multiple firearms for good.
Money Over Matter
Now, this is where this story takes a turn, obviously, it would've been hard for the authorities to find these men since they were all wearing dark clothing and masks, but they got some very key help. Like most cases, it did come from a witness but for the alleged, it was someone they least expected it to be. The witness was one of their best friends, but remember what I said about telling people about the crimes you commit?
One of the alleged, who later confessed to certain crimes told one of his friends about the crime. Keondrick Rayford went to his friend's home after fleeing the scene, wearing the same clothes from the pawn shop robbery, and showed his friend a backpack full of guns. Rayford then texted his friend a story the next day about everything and that he was on the news. He also texted him pictures of a handgun that was identified to have been stolen from the pawn shop. His friend saw the news and that there was a $20,000 reward for turning them in as well.
After his friend spoke up for the cash, Rayford and his brother, Kendrick, were arrested and interviewed in which they both confessed to crimes. Kendrick admitted he wasn't directly involved in any of the thefts but did take pictures of two AR-style guns. There is probable cause to charge him with knowingly possessing a stolen firearm, meanwhile, his brother had a lot more to explain.
Keondrick confessed to robbing the pawn shop and taking multiple guns from the establishment. He also said that he went into the store multiple times and placed multiple firearms into a getaway car during multiple trips inside the store. There is probable cause to charge him with theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee and knowingly possessing stolen firearms.
So the question of the day is, would you tell on your friend for $20,000? Is that enough money for you to spill the beans? Does your loyalty to your friends trump any amount of cash? How much cash would it take to for you to give your friends up?