Lansing man accused of leading crime ring targeting home improvement stores

CHARLOTTE — A Lansing man is accused of coordinating a retail crime ring that targeted area home improvement stores.

Eric Tanner, 38, was arraigned Wednesday in Eaton County District Court on nine felony counts, including one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a maximum 20-year offense.

The organized theft ring employed "drug-dependent acquaintances" to steal power tools, vacuums and other merchandise to be put up for sale on a social media platform, the state Attorney General's Office said Wednesday in a news release.

"We often see the characteristics evident in this case − multiple theft perpetrators, brazen daytime theft, turning merchandise over to a single operator who then sells the loot for profit," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in the release.

Tanner was represented at his arraignment by the Eaton County Public Defender office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Court records indicate a judge set a $10,000 bond for Tanner pending further hearings in the case. A hearing to determine whether he should stand trial on the charges was tentatively set for April 15.

Tanner is charged in connection with incidents that happened between May 2023 and January 2024 at Home depot stores in Lansing, Jackson and Okemos, as well as a Lansing Lowe's and a Kroger, according to the release. Power tools and vacuums were the most commonly targeted items, it said.

Besides the criminal enterprise count, Tanner faces eight counts of organized retail crime, a maximum 5-year felony.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing man accused of leading crime ring targeting home improvement stores