Three Howell-area residents have been charged in connection with break-ins at two local restaurants.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office says that 21-year-old Wyatt Marshall and 20-year-old Michael Tournier, both of Marion Township, broke into the Pizza's Champ and Arby's restaurants in Genoa Township November 27th, while 21-year-old Taylor Schulte of Howell Township drove the getaway car. The trio each face two felony counts of breaking and entering a building with intent, one count of possession of burglar’s tools and one misdemeanor count of retail fraud.

That final charge was for stealing a crowbar from the Genoa Township Walmart, which they used to break into Arby’s. Authorities credit Sgt. Chris Schmidt with putting the three crimes together, saying that after watching surveillance video of the Arby’s robbery, he followed a hunch and then looked at video from Walmart, which showed the suspects entering the store shortly after 2am and stealing the crowbar. It’s believed they had already robbed Pizza's Champ, where they stole a safe.

Tournier is a former Pizza's Champ employee, while Marshall used to work at Arby's. Some of the money from the robberies was recovered, although just how much was stolen overall remains unclear. All three are due for a probable cause conference in 53rd District Court on December 20th. (JK)