Michigan Attorney General Busts Big-Time KitchenAid Mixer Thief

During these dark days of increasing crime in the State of the Mitten, Michiganders can begin to rest easy as Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel assures the huddled masses that the KitchenAid stand mixer thief has been captured and has pleaded guilty to the theft of an excess of $20,000 of the beloved and most sought mixer in America. 

In a press release that flashed across computer monitors in newsrooms across America, the Office of the Michigan Department of Attorney General laid out the grim facts of the KitchenAid mixer heists that had been plaguing Detroit area Target stores since 2022. 

So, What’s The Skinny On These Mixer Heists? 

It was on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, that Brian Roussey, 31 of Farmington Hills, pled guilty to three counts of Organized Retail Fraud for operating a theft and resale scheme of KitchenAid brand stand mixers from metro Detroit Target stores.  

It seems that Roussey began stealing KitchenAid mixers in late 2020 and continued through late 2022, entering various Target locations throughout the metro Detroit area, walking out with the product without making a purchase, and selling the stolen appliances on public online forums such as Facebook Marketplace. Just how you waltz out of a Target store, numerous times, with a stand mixer that weighs approximately 22lbs is beyond me. 

The Beloved KitchenAid Stand Mixer Weighs In At Over 22 LBS.

Dana Nessel Utilizes The “FORCE” 

One reason that the Attorney General is so gleeful over the conviction of the “Sir Mix-a-Lot" thief may be the fact of being able to tout the efforts of her new “FORCE Team”. The ‘FORCE’ Team and the Organized Retail Crime Unit were established in January by the Attorney General to target criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit. 

The press release boldly states, 

Two assistant attorneys general serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General. 

In a nutshell, the ‘FORCE’ Team is dedicated to working collaboratively with retailers and local law enforcement agencies to combat organized retail crime. 

So This Mixer Thief Lives In The Somewhat Ritzy Farmington Hills? 

Well...ya. Farmington Hills isn’t known to be the harbor of deadbeats. BestNeighborhood.org lists the median household income in Farmington Hills at $96,251. The average rent is $1,481 per month, so ripping off multiple stand mixers, that retail as much as $500 per unit, could be considered one way to stay on good terms with the landlord. Meanwhile, Roussey cools his heels as he awaits sentencing, in the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County, on October 17th, 2023.