Chase suspect eyed in holdup
4/16/2004MONROE - A man shot by a Michigan State Police trooper following a vehicle chase Wednesday night is a suspect in an armed bank robbery Monday in Frenchtown Township, troopers said.
The suspect, whom troopers declined to name, was in fair condition last night at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo.
The incident began about 9:15 p.m. after Monroe city police spotted the suspect driving recklessly in a stolen vehicle.
They pursued the vehicle through the streets of Monroe before turning the chase over to state police after the suspect entered northbound I-75, troopers said.
Troopers attempted to stop the suspect's vehicle using tire-puncture sticks, but failed.
When a trooper pulled his vehicle alongside, the suspect rammed his vehicle into the trooper's car, disabling both vehicles.
At some point after the chase, the trooper, whom authorities also would not name, fired his gun, striking the suspect.
The suspect was taken to Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe before being taken by air ambulance to St. Vincent's.
The trooper was treated at Mercy Memorial for minor injuries.
On Monday, a man fitting the description of the car-chase suspect took an undisclosed amount of money at gunpoint from a teller at the Monroe Bank & Trust branch in Frenchtown Square Mall.