Man charged in Mustang thefts at Flat Rock Ford plant

A 19-year-old man has been charged in connection with stealing Ford Mustangs from an assembly plant Thursday, investigators said.

Robert Anthony Smith of Detroit was arraigned Friday through 36th District Court on four counts: receiving and concealing $20,000 or more, receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, unlawful driving away and fourth-degree fleeing.

He was arrested soon after the thefts.

Flat Rock officers called Michigan State Police at about 3:20 a.m. Thursday for help to stop suspects fleeing in several stolen 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500s.

Police saw the suspects trying to fuel the vehicles, but they drove off when they saw the officers, authorities reported.

Troopers patrolling near Outer Drive and northbound Interstate-75 in Melvindale spotted Smith and attempted to a traffic stop but he sped off, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Troopers pursued the Mustang until it ran out of gas on westbound Interstate 96 near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Detroit, MSP said.

Smith was taken into custody without incident and taken into the Detroit Detention Center.

During his arraignment, he was given a $10,000 personal bond with a GPS tether.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 30, followed by a preliminary examination on July 6 before Judge Kenyetta Stanford Jones.

Meanwhile, two other Mustangs were found abandoned Thursday on northbound I-75 near Livernois and on Warren Avenue near 30th, state police said. Investigators believe each ran out of gas.