KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The suspect believed to have stolen a sheriff's office firearm has been arrested. Investigators also tracked down the gun and now the department has changed its policies to prevent a repeat of the crime.
On September 23 the gun was taken during a break-in of a personal vehicle owned by a Kalamazoo County sheriff's deputy. The deputy was dining at a restaurant on Portage Street between Dorchester Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue with his family and had left his work rifle in his car.
A restaurant staff member witnessed the break in and told the deputy, according to the sheriff's office. The deputy tried to chase down the suspect, seeing him run off with what looked to be the rifle-bag slung across their shoulders.
The suspect was able to get away and the deputy reported the theft to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, along with his superiors.
A joint investigation between the two agencies quickly led to the suspect's identity, Cortez Hopkins, a man who does not have a fixed home. Detectives were able to track his movements through surveillance footage and tips from community members.
Two days later officers tracked him down in an apartment near Drake Road. He was found hiding in a closet and arrested.
The gun however, was still missing.
Over the next week, investigators continued to track down leads on the rifle. The firearm was moved multiple times throughout the Kalamazoo area in an attempt to keep it from police, according to the sheriff's office.
The rifle was finally recovered on Friday, October 3.
In the wake of this theft, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office said it will no longer allow deputies to store or leave agency-issued firearms inside personal vehicles. Firearms will also need to be stored in ways that adhere with Michigan's safe storage act.
Hopkins was arraigned on weapons and larceny charges in late September. He's being held on a $5,000 bond.
