Traffic stop in Garfield Township leads to drugs, stolen tools arrest
A Garfield Township stop turned up suspected heroin, Xanax and more than $1,000 in stolen Home Depot tools, sending a Fife Lake man to jail.
Michigan State Police say a routine equipment violation stop in Garfield Township uncovered suspected narcotics, stolen tools and a separate warrant arrest, turning a traffic matter on Market Place Circle into a broader criminal case.
Troopers stopped Tyler Sommer, 34, of Fife Lake, at about 5:20 p.m. May 25. During the encounter, police said a preliminary investigation indicated Sommer was carrying suspected heroin and Xanax. Officers also recovered more than $1,000 worth of stolen tools from Home Depot, and the items were returned to the store.
A 43-year-old Manton man who was riding as a passenger in the vehicle was also arrested on an outstanding warrant. State police said that arrest was separate from Sommer’s alleged conduct.
Sommer was lodged in the Grand Traverse County Jail and arraigned May 27 in 86th District Court. The charges listed in the case include possession of a controlled substance, possession of controlled substances and analogs, retail fraud in the first degree and maintaining a drug house. His bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety, and he was due back in court June 16 at 11 a.m.
The case highlights how a traffic stop in Grand Traverse County can quickly expand once officers see evidence of more than a minor vehicle issue. In this case, investigators say the stop connected property theft, narcotics enforcement and active court exposure in a single encounter on a township road that many Garfield Township drivers use every day.
Michigan treats first-degree retail fraud as the higher-level theft offense, generally reserved for more serious retail crime, while the state’s drug-house law is aimed at places or vehicles used to store, use or sell controlled substances. Here, police said those laws became part of a case that started with an equipment violation and ended with stolen merchandise returned, two men in custody and a Fife Lake resident facing multiple charges in district court.
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