Heaps of weed fly from truck during police chase after Bay County marijuana store heist

Five people are in jail after they allegedly broke into a Bay County marijuana store and then led police on a chase in Saginaw County early Wednesday.

Police responded to the Smoke Society store in the 3600 block of Wilder Road in Bangor Township around 5 a.m. after receiving reports of a break-in. The owner of the store allegedly saw the suspects on surveillance video.

The owner gave police information about the suspects' get-away vehicle from the surveillance cameras. A short time later, Michigan State Police troopers spotted the pickup truck on I-75 in Buena Vista Township.

Police say the driver refused to pull over, and the pickup truck started swerving at oncoming traffic after exiting the freeway onto Dixie Highway in Bridgeport. The driver allegedly crashed into another vehicle intentionally and fled again.

Troopers used the Precision Immobilization Technique to force the pickup truck into the ditch along Dixie Highway in Bridgeport Township and end the pursuit.

The five suspects fled the scene on foot, but police caught four of them immediately. A police K-9 team found the fifth suspect hiding in a nearby residence a short time later and apprehended him.

Michigan State Police say all five suspects, who are males age 18 to 21, live in the Battle Creek and Lansing areas. They were not identified Wednesday morning because they had not appeared in court for arraignment.

All five remained in the Saginaw County Jail while awaiting formal charges.

Police say the pickup truck used in the chase was stolen from a Lansing-area business earlier Wednesday morning. Investigators found a large amount of stolen marijuana and other merchandise from Smoke Society in the truck.

Michigan State Police say no serious injuries were reported from the chase.