Canton man, shot by police in Michigan, linked to Ohio robberies
A Canton man who was shot by police was indicted Oct. 28 in connection with robberies in Cleveland and Toledo.
Cizquindrie Smith, 38, faces federal charges of commerce by threats or violence and bank robbery.
Smith also faces charges in Michigan after being accused of ramming a box truck into a Taylor, Michigan, police vehicle and pointing a gun at officers. He has been detained in Wayne County Jail in Michigan on a $75,000 bond since July 9.
According to an FBI agent's investigation, Smith is connected to two armed robberies and is accused of taking over $1,500.
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Canton man connected to Ohio robberies in Cleveland, Toledo
Court records show that on June 30, a Family Dollar on Clark Avenue in Cleveland was robbed by a person showing a pistol. The suspect made a cashier put $200 in cash into a pink bag; the cashier slipped a tracker into the bills. A witness saw the man drive off in a U-Haul truck.
Officials discovered an hour before the robbery that the same truck stopped at a McDonald's 1.5 miles from the Family Dollar. Restaurant footage links Smith to the robbery, court records say.
The truck, a 2020 GMC Savannah, was rented by the mother of one of Smith's children. She is pictured with the bag consistent with the one used in the Family Dollar robbery.
A few days later, on July 2, a Citizens Bank on Lewis Avenue in Toledo was robbed by a male with a dark-colored pistol. A silent alarm was activated at 9:57 a.m. The suspect walked to the teller station, shot one round from the pistol and instructed the teller to put the money into a black backpack; he also told them not to put in any trackers. The bank manager estimated he took $1,341.
Toledo police at the scene found one spent shell casing of a 9mm round, a projectile lodged in the bank teller wall, two fragments from the projectile and a DNA swab of the door where the suspect touched his hand.
A license plate reader found the same truck going northbound on Lewis Ave at State Line Road in Monroe County, Michigan, at 10:01 a.m. that day.
Cizquindrie Smith shot in Michigan
The same week, on July 6, the Taylor Police Department found the vehicle at a Sheetz gas station in Taylor, around 11:30 a.m. Smith allegedly tried to flee when officers approached him and backed into a police vehicle, authorities said.
Officers told the driver, Smith, to exit the vehicle but he instead pointed a gun at them, leading to an officer-involved shooting and Smith's eventual arrest, records show. Medics took Smith to a hospital.
Taylor's police chief said on July 6 that the four officers who fired at the suspect would be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Michigan State Police.
Taylor detectives knew that Smith was staying at a Red Roof Inn in Taylor and searched the room. They said they found eight juveniles, the woman who had rented the truck, two bags that resembled the bags used in the robberies and two cellphones. Inside the truck officials say they found clothing and headphones that matched those the robbery suspect wore, but also a Taurus Arms 9mm with a loaded magazine.
Smith will be arraigned on Nov. 16 before Magistrate Judge Darrell A. Clay.
In Michigan, he is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, third-degree fleeing and eluding police, felonious assault, resisting a police officer, and two counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.
If convicted of his Michigan charges, he faces up to five years in prison for carrying a concealed weapon, up to five years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, up to five years for fleeing and eluding police, up to four years for felonious assault, up to two years for resisting police, and up to two years for each count of using a firearm during a felony.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. The Repository left a message to Donna Grill, Smith's listed attorney, seeking comment.
Includes reporting from Detroit News staff writer Charles E. Ramirez.
Reach Aaron at 330-580-8428 or ahhughes@usatodayco.com. On X: @AaronHughe2
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton man, shot by police in Michigan, linked to Ohio robberies
