Three suspects accused of robbing an Eaton County credit union have been arraigned in district court.
23-year-old Patrick Patterson, 19-year-old Fred Lewis, and 18-year-old Chrishon Milton were all arraigned on two felony counts of bank robbery and one felony count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
The three men allegedly robbed the Case Credit Union in Delta Township Thursday afternoon.
An Eaton County Sheriff's Deputy was driving on I-96 near Martin Luther King when he noticed a vehicle fitting the description of the suspects vehicle. The suspect began driving at a high rate of speed.
"The driver of the suspect vehicle attempted to get onto the exit ramp to US-127 northbound, lost control, crashed the vehicle, and hit some trees," said Tom Reich, Eaton County Sheriff.
Multiple police agencies including East Lansing Police, Michigan State University Police, Ingham County Sheriff's Deputies, Meridian Township, Mason Police Department, Michigan State Police, Lansing Police Department, Grand Ledge Police K9 converged on the area and coordinated a search. The search continued for hours using multiple canine teams, swat teams and uniformed personnel.
"We were able to apprehend them several hours later, after several searches of the wooded areas, and eventually found them on Michigan State University's property," said Reich.
A K9 unit and handler found the suspects hiding in thick brush.
All three men are from the Detroit area and have had run-in's with the law.
Lewis has a pending case of retail fraud, Milton was charged with carrying a concealed weapon as a juvenile in 2013, and Patterson has 15 outstanding warrants for failure to appear.
"It's a concern to us in Eaton County, and specifically in Delta Township, when individuals come into our county and rob our banks," said Doug Lloyd, Eaton County Prosecutor. "We take that very seriously here in Eaton County."
Lewis and Milton are being held on a $250,000 bond. Patterson's bond is set at $500,000.
