AG Nessel Announces Additional Auto Theft Ring Arrests in Southeast Michigan

LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the arrests and arraignments of four additional members of an alleged criminal organization responsible for the thefts of hundreds of vehicles in Southeast Michigan. The charges are a continuation of a FORCE Team investigation the Attorney General first announced in May 2024 into the alleged auto theft ring.

It is alleged this criminal ring targets new vehicle storage lots, car dealerships, parking lots, and individual residences. The four defendants whose arrests were announced today allegedly carried out thefts on more than a dozen occasions last year.  

The Department alleges stolen vehicles are sold significantly below market value on the black market to buyers seeking unregistered vehicles. Stolen vehicles have been linked to other criminal activity. The group is suspected of using countersurveillance to steal vehicles quickly and efficiently, allegedly using violence and ramming security vehicles if confronted.   

“With these charges, we are one step closer to dismantling an active, violent, and prolific criminal organization responsible for the thefts of hundreds of vehicles across our state,” Nessel said. “I’d like to thank the prosecutors from my FORCE Team and all our law enforcement partners. Their tireless efforts over the past year have been instrumental in combatting auto thefts and protecting our communities.”   

Troy Police Department, investigating this crime ring since August 2023, partnered with the FORCE Team in early 2024 to bring down this expansive criminal organization. The investigation has been aided by the efforts of local police agencies, including the municipal police departments of Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Canton, Dearborn, Detroit, Eastpointe, Farmington Hills, Lansing, Livonia, Novi, Roseville, Royal Oak, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Walled Lake, and Warren, as well as the Oakland County Auto Theft Group and Macomb County Auto Theft Unit. 

The Troy Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Detroit Police Department's Commercial Auto Theft Unit executed four arrest warrants on January 2, bringing four defendants into their custody and seizing a large quantity of electronic key fobs and cash.  

Each defendant has been charged with Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony. Charged and arrested in connection to these thefts are:  

• Davonta Jones, 31, of Detroit, who has been additionally charged with eight counts of Receiving and Concealing a Stolen Motor Vehicle.
• Donovan Tucker, 22, of Detroit, who has been additionally charged with eight counts of Receiving and Concealing a Stolen Motor Vehicle.
• Davion Tucker, 21, of Detroit, who has been additionally charged with seven counts of Receiving and Concealing a Stolen Motor Vehicle.
• Timothy Bell, 23, of Detroit, who has been additionally charged with 10 counts of Receiving and Concealing a Stolen Motor Vehicle. 

Jones, Donovan Tucker and Davion Tucker were arraigned on January 3 in the 19th District Court in Dearborn before the Honorable Mark Somers. Each were given a $500,000 cash/surety bond and scheduled for a probable cause conference on January 17. Bell was arraigned on January 3 in the 1st District Court in Monroe before the Honorable Christian J. Horkey. He was given a $500,000 cash/surety bond and scheduled for a probable cause conference on January 14.

This remains an ongoing investigation. 

The FORCE Team and the Organized Retail Crime Unit were established in January 2023 by the Attorney General to target criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit. Two assistant attorneys general serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The FORCE team also partners with the FBI’s Detroit Fraud and Financial Crimes Task Force and the Postal Inspection Service. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General.    

The FORCE Team is dedicated to working collaboratively with retailers and local law enforcement agencies to combat organized retail crime. FORCE is an acronym that stands for Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement. Recent corporate partners on investigations have included Sam’s Club/Walmart, Meijer, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Rite-Aid, Lululemon, Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and Lowe’s.