Ousted Macomb County clerk Karen Spranger is no longer on the lam.

Warren Police took her into custody on a felony larceny warrant about 4 p.m. Thursday at a Tim Hortons restaurant at 12 Mile and Mound roads in Warren, city Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said.

He said Spranger was taken into custody after someone spotted her in the restaurant and called a patrol officer, who is a friend.

The officer was on duty and went over, talked with Spranger, and asked for her ID. Once the officer confirmed the woman was Spranger, she was taken into custody, Dwyer said.

"She was cooperative," Dwyer said, adding that Spranger is being processed and will be held at the city lockup until her arraignment.

She is expected to be arraigned Friday in 37th District Court in Warren.

Her arrest came about 26 hours after Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith announced Wednesday that his office issued a warrant charging her with stealing $1,660 from the bank account of an elderly woman she was helping in Warren.

The warrant charged Spranger with larceny over $1,000 but under $20,000, a five-year felony, in an incident first reported Feb. 26.

More:Prosecutor: Karen Spranger caught on video stealing money from elderly woman

More:Warren police: Karen Spranger may be homeless, staying in hotels

Using a large TV screen at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Smith displayed three surveillance photos allegedly showing Spranger using an ATM to take money from the 78-year-old woman's bank account.

Smith said Spranger withdrew money from the victim's account on eight occasions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 8 using an ATM at Chase bank. She appeared to be alone in each instance, Smith said, making the withdrawals without the victim's permission.

Police had been unable to locate Spranger despite pleas for her to come in and be questioned by investigators. Dwyer said information they received in March was that she may be homeless and jumping from one hotel to another in the Macomb County area.

Spranger was removed from office in March 2018 after a St. Clair County judge determined that she lied about her residency on paperwork she filed to run for office in Macomb County. Her removal ended more than a year of turmoil in the clerk's office.

Dwyer previously said that on Feb. 26 police received a call from the victim's bank. He said the bank was concerned about the victim, and police went to her apartment on Karam Boulevard about 11:30 a.m. that day on a welfare check.

Dwyer said the victim told police that she had been assaulted by Spranger the day before in the parking lot. She told police she was trying to get into Spranger's car, where she had some of her belongings, when Spranger pulled her back and threw her to the ground. He said the victim also told police that $1,800 was missing from her purse.

Dwyer said the victim said Spranger moved into her home in October to help with shopping and errands.

During the course of that time, money had been missing from her purse and she believed Spranger had taken the money from her purse and possibly other items from the apartment, Dwyer said.

The victim told police she had known Spranger for years, and that Spranger reached out to her in October to help her with day-to-day needs

Dwyer said Spranger talked briefly with police at the apartment when officers arrived in February. However, they wanted to have an in-depth interview with her. He previously said Spranger was "not cooperating."

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.