‘Detroit Shed Mom’ arrested for car theft by Sumpter Twp. Police

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
A woman known as the “Detroit Shed Mom” was arrested by Sumpter Township Police on charges surrounding the stolen car parked in front of her residence in Rawsonville Woods.
Meghann New, 34, was arraigned at 34th District Court for receiving and concealing stolen goods over $1,000 and less than $20,000, receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, and the unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle. Each charge carries a penalty of five years in prison.
At her arraignment, New was released on personal recognizance bond and her preliminary exam was set for Wednesday, Sept. 4, in 34th District Court.
Sumpter Township Police Detective John Toth said on Aug. 20 Captain Eric Luke got an anonymous tip on a stolen vehicle being parked in front of a trailer on Greenmeadow. The tipster described the vehicle and gave the plate number.
Sumpter Police ran the plate and found the vehicle had been reported stolen two months earlier out of Northville.
Det. Toth, Captain Luke, Sgt. James Cayce, and Officer Danielle Buccellato went to Greenmeadow and knocked on the door.
Det. Toth said at first the woman who answered gave a fake name for herself and told some other lies, but then she confessed to stealing the car and driving it around for the past two months.
She told police that she went into a gym in Northville and acted as through she wanted membership. They showed her around and she saw the key board, where people hung up their keys while they exercised.
She said she stole a set of keys, went out in the parking lot and hit the button on the key until she found the car, and then she stole it.
During her confession, she announced she was the “Detroit Shed Mom,” who was in the news in 2011. She and her two daughters (ages 4 and 5), her sister and her sister’s boyfriend, and a dog and a cat were found squatting in an 8×8’ shed in Detroit in winter, with only a small space heater for warmth. Drug needles and paraphernalia were on the floor.
Since then, New’s children have been taken away from her and she had a warrant out for her arrest because she failed to appear for trial in February 2012.
After checking with Detroit Police, Sumpter Police transported New to the Detroit PD Detention Center where she is being held on $100,000 bond.