Livonia police say the man who fired shots at them Thursday on Merriman Road is expected to be prosecuted by federal officials after he was caught over the weekend in Ohio.
Capt. Robert Nenciarini of the Livonia Police Department said he was informed by officers that Todd Raymond Keith, 37, was apprehended late Friday near Cincinnati. Keith is believed to be the man who walked into the Embassy Inn and Suites on Victor Parkway and the Days Inn in Livonia last week and robbed them at gunpoint.
Police say he was then chased along Plymouth Road before he turned onto Merriman, where he fired shots back at police chasing him, resulting in the road's closure for several hours as police investigated. The pursuit continued, but was halted after police lost the vehicle near Ford and Southfield.
He is also accused of several other crimes in southeast Michigan, including two bank robberies in Ypsilanti, the robbery of a Walgreens in Brownstown Township and a carjacking out of Madison Heights Thursday. Police say he donned several Halloween-themed masks during the incidents reported to law enforcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation put out Keith's information on Friday, asking for anyone knowing his whereabouts to contact them. His information was passed along through several media channels, including electronic freeway billboards as far away as Grand Rapids.
Nenciarini said it sounds like Keith will be prosecuted by the federal government in these cases instead of by the state in local courthouses.
"It sounds like they want to take everything federal," he said.
If that does happen, Keith will not appear on charges in Livonia's 16th District Court, but in a federal courthouse for criminal proceedings. A message seeking more information from the FBI was left Monday afternoon.
Keith shows a lengthy criminal background, per the Michigan Department of Corrections. An online profile for a Todd Raymond Keith shows he has faced criminal charges in four counties, including Washtenaw, Monroe, Oakland and Macomb in the last 16 years. He was most recently sent to prison on several charges in 2007 and 2009, which included fleeing and eluding police, receiving/concealing stolen property. He was recently put on probation for three years out of Washtenaw County for several breaking-and-entering crimes committed in March 2015. He was put on probation in December, and was set to remain on probation until the end of 2018, per online corrections records.
Contact David Veselenak: dveselenak@hometownlife.com | 734-678-6728 | Twitter: @DavidVeselenak
