Crime & Safety

Carjacking Suspect Identified, Arrested

The following information was provided by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.

A man accused on an Orion Township carjacking last month now faces two felony charges.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office on July 3 identified and arrested Rene Apalatagui, a 46-year-old Commerce Township man accused in a June 22 carjacking and robbery of an Orion Township cab driver, according to an incident report.

Deputies responded June 22 to a 911 call from a cab driver who said he had been beaten, robbed of $50 and pulled from his vehicle by a man he had just picked up from the Catalina Lounge in Orion Township. The driver told deputies the man was armed with a hammer. Deputies recovered the taxi cab a short distance from the scene of the carjacking.

Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the report, detectives used phone records and interviews to determine the identity of Apalatagui, who had reportedly been staying at various locations throughout Oakland County. According to the report, he was found hiding in a sofa at the Waldon Lake Apartments in Orion Township after a July 3 incident where he reportedly threatened his girlfriend, who fled the apartments and contacted the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators learned Apalatagui had a drug habit and the carjacking was related to his recent drug binge, the report indicated. He was arraigned July 5 on one count of carjacking and one count of unarmed robbery in front of Judge Nancy Carniak, who set a $150,000 cash bond. Both felony charges carry up to 20 years to life in prison.

Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Oakland Township-Lake Orion