A 30-year-old Ann Arbor man is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $1.2 million bond after being charged in four brazen armed robberies in the city this year.
Ahmad Abdullah-Albasir
Courtesy of WCSO
Ahmad Abdullah-Albasir faces four counts of armed robbery and was arraigned in front of Magistrate Thomas Truesdell Friday afternoon. Ann Arbor police Lt. Detective Robert Pfannes reported in a statement Abdullah-Albasir is responsible for four daylight robberies at GameStop, Biggby Coffee and two Subway locations in Ann Arbor.
Pfannes reported that a substance believed to be heroin also was seized at the suspect’s home.
The long investigation eventually paid off after Ann Arbor police Officer Michael Fechik recognized an unoccupied vehicle matching the suspect’s vehicle description on the midnight shift.
“Detectives assigned to the cases were aware that the suspect descriptions and method of operation were similar and that the cases had significant potential to be related,” Pfannes said. “The cases were open and leads were exhausted or pending.”
The first robbery in the string of incidents Abdullah-Albasir is suspected in was reported on April 30. According to police, a man walked into the GameStop, 3225 Washtenaw Ave., at 5:23 p.m. on April 30 and pulled out a knife. The suspect demanded cash before walking away from the business.
Later that week, a man robbed the Biggby Coffee shop at 2550 W. Stadium Blvd, at 3:51 p.m. In that incident, the suspect went around the counter with a knife and demanded cash from a register. He was given an unknown amount of cash and walked away from the store.
A little more than a month later, police believe the same suspect struck again. At 4:35 p.m. June 5, the man walked into the Subway at 885 W. Eisenhower Blvd. and showed a knife, according to police. He received an unknown amount of cash and then ran from the area.
The final incident occurred on July 12. According to police, the man walked into the Subway at 2140 W. Stadium Blvd. between 6 and 6:19 p.m. July 12 and implied he had a handgun but kept his hand in his pocket. The victim in the incident reported seeing the barrel of a handgun. The suspect again fled on foot.
Pfannes said a possible vehicle description was developed by detectives throughout the investigation and sent to patrol officers in agencies throughout Washtenaw County. Fechik recognized the vehicle while on patrol on the midnight shift and passed that information onto detectives.
Detectives Bill Stanford, Chris Fitzpatrick, Kevin Warner and Robin Larson worked the lead and eventually served a search warrant at a home in the 700 block of North Maple Road on Thursday.
Abdullah-Albasir was arrested and heroin was seized at the scene, Pfannes said. He was arraigned Friday at the Washtenaw County Jail by Truesdell and is being held on bond.
Information on his preliminary hearing was not immediately available Friday.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.