The second suspect in a is in custody, police said Tuesday.
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Travis Blubaugh, 21 and formerly of Chesterfield Township, was arraigned Monday in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore on two charges of armed robbery. Blubaugh is being held in Macomb County Jail in lieu of a $500,000 cash bond, Chesterfield Detective Sgt. Deron Myers said.
Witness interviews led police to believe the suspect was the getaway driver in the in which Michael Zech, 28 of Mount Clemens, was the first suspect charged with committing. An arrest warrant was then secured for Blubaugh. Local police sought help from Detective Brett Rider of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio. Rider, along with other unit members, found him hiding July 17 in the Lake Cody campground in Lima, Myers said.
He waived his extradition hearing Friday and Chesterfield police picked him up Monday from the Allen County Jail and brought him to Michigan to face charges here. The suspect, who was described by police as Zech's acquaintance, was on probation for a separate case out of New Baltimore district court, he said.
The recent charges pertain to the following 2011 incidents, according to :
- At approximately 11 p.m. Nov. 15, a man police later identified as Zech allegedly stopped an elderly man in the parking lot on Hall and Gratiot, demanding money. The victim, who was inside his car, told the suspect he didn't have any cash, rolled up his window and escaped to safety.
- At 12:56 a.m. Nov. 16, Zech allegedly demanded money from a cashier at Walgreens at 1045 S. Gratiot in Clinton Township and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.
- At 10:31 p.m. Nov. 17, he then allegedly ordered the clerk at 7-Eleven at 23 Mile and Callens to hand over an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police said today they do not anticipate any more arrests in this case, but the investigation is ongoing.
