A Traverse City police detective went to a local gas station Thursday to show clerks a surveillance video image of someone accused of stealing a woman's credit card a week before. The man Detective Kevin Gay was looking for was buying a pack of cigarettes there.
Capt. Brian Heffner, who leads the detective bureau, said a chance encounter like this is rare but welcome.
"The odds are definitely against this happening. ... On the exact day and time he's in there, the suspect is buying a pack of cigarettes," Heffner told the Traverse City Record-Eagle for a story published Saturday.
The man, 51, was arrested and faces charges of unlawful use of a credit card, the newspaper reports.
Police said the suspect had used the credit card at two area stations, including the one where he was nabbed.
