(WXYZ) - Police are warning residents in Bloomfield Township to be on high alert after a rash of late-night break-ins. Police say there have been at least seven break-ins at homes in the area over the last couple of weeks. In some cases, doors were pried open, and in others the thief or thieves got in through unlocked doors.Police say, no one was home during any of the break-ins, and it's not known if the same suspect or suspects are involved in each crime.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/story/Homeowners-On-Alert-After-Rash-Of-Break-Ins/C4yGlbKhOkKgWa592UURlg.cspx
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Missing Columbus man with Alzheimer's finds lucky break in West Michigan
By Tom Rademacher The Grand Rapids Press
February 07, 2010, 6:00AM
For reasons no one really knows — maybe to teach us all a subtle lesson — Sanford E. Mitchell climbed into his car one day last month and drove about 250 miles from his home in Columbus, Ohio, to Jenison.
Nothing unusual about a road trip, under normal circumstances. But Mitchell, who is 79, recalls only bits and pieces of the trip, due to the early effects of Alzheimer’s.
The Ohio Missing Adult Alert System was activated, but it would be two long days before his family in Columbus would know whether he was dead or alive.
Thanks in large part to a gentleman by the name of Stephon Blackwell, Mitchell not only was alive, but ended up watching football and eating meatloaf and cornbread with mashed potatoes and green beans while waiting to be reunited with loved ones.
The drama began two weekends ago when Mitchell drove away from his Columbus apartment in his silver Toyota Camry.
The next untold number of hours is a big question mark, but this much is known: somehow, he made it safely to Jenison, where he parked his car, then wandered a short distance into the Speedway station at 279 Baldwin St.
Dave Barrett was working behind the counter when the driver approached and said he was just a couple of blocks from home and needed gas to make it the rest of the way.
About then, Stephon Blackwell came in. He is a regular patron and had just finished attending Sunday services at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church on Franklin Street SE in Grand Rapids.
“We call ourselves ‘The Friendly Church on the Corner,’” Blackwell told me.
Blackwell was only looking for some snacks to take to his home in Jenison when Barrett started sharing details about the elderly gentleman who had just walked in seeking fuel.
Both men realized from the way Mitchell talked and acted that something wasn’t adding up. For one, he was pointing in different directions to where he left his car.
He seemed confused in general.
This is the point in the story where you and I get to play multiple choice:
A. Leave the problem in the hands of the guy at the Speedway, or another.
B. Call a cop.
C. Assume the old codger will figure things out on his own.
D. Actually put into practice what so many wear on their wrists, challenging one another to consider “WWJD,” or “What Would Jesus Do?”
Without thinking twice, Blackwell, a 49-year-old painter with a wife and daughter, chose D.
“C’mon, man,” Blackwell said to Mitchell as they stood outside the Speedway. “Get in my truck. It’s cold out here.”
A call to family
Blackwell was able to get a phone number from Mitchell that linked to his daughter, but Mitchell didn’t remember the area code, only that she lived in Columbus.
Incredibly, Blackwell had recently done some painting in — of all places, Columbus — and it wasn’t long before he was connecting with Mitchell’s daughter, Sandra Phipps, 42.
“She was hollering. She was hysterical,” Blackwell recalled.
“She told me he’d been missing almost two days and that all of Columbus, Ohio, was looking for him.”
Later, Sandra would share that she was beside herself with worry, not knowing whether her father was dead or alive.
“I’m his daddy’s girl,” she said. “That’s my heart.”
Blackwell shared details with Sandra over the phone, building trust between the two of them, then posed a question: “Do you think it’s OK if I take him home today?”
Sandra said yes and that she would drive up to get him.
After giving her directions to his home, Blackwell and Mitchell drove off for Sunday dinner in his 2000 Chevy Silverado.
Gracious hostsStephon’s wife Lisa, 50, greeted them at the door. Daughter Alona, 8, took the old man’s coat. They prayed, then they ate, listening to Mitchell share stories of picking cotton in the South long before ending up in Ohio.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Blackwell of their guest, “he could eat. He probably hadn’t eaten in two days, but I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
In the basement, they watched football, two pro games that would set up today’s Super Bowl.
“He propped his legs up,” Blackwell said. “He was chilling.”
Sandra called every half hour to update her progress as she drove north with husband Rodney and a friend. It took them the better part of six hours.
When she arrived, “I hugged her,” said Blackwell, “and, then, she bolted down the steps and it was on. It was crazy. It was ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy,’ and they were both crying and hugging.
“We had a prayer and, then, they left.”
Mitchell’s daughter is a pastor at New Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Ohio, so she has had plenty of opportunity to preach about love and loss, affairs of the heart.
But this struck close to home and showed her in a personal way that “God is at work in everything” and how “He’s still working miracles today.”
I asked Blackwell what prompted him to take a stranger into his home, to feed him and entertain him and keep him warm. What made him choose D?
“I just thought,” the painter answered, “that when I saw him, I saw somebody’s father, somebody’s grandfather, standing there in the cold, standing there in the snow.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/02/local_man_takes_in_elderly_gen.html
February 07, 2010, 6:00AM
For reasons no one really knows — maybe to teach us all a subtle lesson — Sanford E. Mitchell climbed into his car one day last month and drove about 250 miles from his home in Columbus, Ohio, to Jenison.
Nothing unusual about a road trip, under normal circumstances. But Mitchell, who is 79, recalls only bits and pieces of the trip, due to the early effects of Alzheimer’s.
The Ohio Missing Adult Alert System was activated, but it would be two long days before his family in Columbus would know whether he was dead or alive.
Thanks in large part to a gentleman by the name of Stephon Blackwell, Mitchell not only was alive, but ended up watching football and eating meatloaf and cornbread with mashed potatoes and green beans while waiting to be reunited with loved ones.
The drama began two weekends ago when Mitchell drove away from his Columbus apartment in his silver Toyota Camry.
The next untold number of hours is a big question mark, but this much is known: somehow, he made it safely to Jenison, where he parked his car, then wandered a short distance into the Speedway station at 279 Baldwin St.
Dave Barrett was working behind the counter when the driver approached and said he was just a couple of blocks from home and needed gas to make it the rest of the way.
About then, Stephon Blackwell came in. He is a regular patron and had just finished attending Sunday services at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church on Franklin Street SE in Grand Rapids.
“We call ourselves ‘The Friendly Church on the Corner,’” Blackwell told me.
Blackwell was only looking for some snacks to take to his home in Jenison when Barrett started sharing details about the elderly gentleman who had just walked in seeking fuel.
Both men realized from the way Mitchell talked and acted that something wasn’t adding up. For one, he was pointing in different directions to where he left his car.
He seemed confused in general.
This is the point in the story where you and I get to play multiple choice:
A. Leave the problem in the hands of the guy at the Speedway, or another.
B. Call a cop.
C. Assume the old codger will figure things out on his own.
D. Actually put into practice what so many wear on their wrists, challenging one another to consider “WWJD,” or “What Would Jesus Do?”
Without thinking twice, Blackwell, a 49-year-old painter with a wife and daughter, chose D.
“C’mon, man,” Blackwell said to Mitchell as they stood outside the Speedway. “Get in my truck. It’s cold out here.”
A call to family
Blackwell was able to get a phone number from Mitchell that linked to his daughter, but Mitchell didn’t remember the area code, only that she lived in Columbus.
Incredibly, Blackwell had recently done some painting in — of all places, Columbus — and it wasn’t long before he was connecting with Mitchell’s daughter, Sandra Phipps, 42.
“She was hollering. She was hysterical,” Blackwell recalled.
“She told me he’d been missing almost two days and that all of Columbus, Ohio, was looking for him.”
Later, Sandra would share that she was beside herself with worry, not knowing whether her father was dead or alive.
“I’m his daddy’s girl,” she said. “That’s my heart.”
Blackwell shared details with Sandra over the phone, building trust between the two of them, then posed a question: “Do you think it’s OK if I take him home today?”
Sandra said yes and that she would drive up to get him.
After giving her directions to his home, Blackwell and Mitchell drove off for Sunday dinner in his 2000 Chevy Silverado.
Gracious hostsStephon’s wife Lisa, 50, greeted them at the door. Daughter Alona, 8, took the old man’s coat. They prayed, then they ate, listening to Mitchell share stories of picking cotton in the South long before ending up in Ohio.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Blackwell of their guest, “he could eat. He probably hadn’t eaten in two days, but I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
In the basement, they watched football, two pro games that would set up today’s Super Bowl.
“He propped his legs up,” Blackwell said. “He was chilling.”
Sandra called every half hour to update her progress as she drove north with husband Rodney and a friend. It took them the better part of six hours.
When she arrived, “I hugged her,” said Blackwell, “and, then, she bolted down the steps and it was on. It was crazy. It was ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy,’ and they were both crying and hugging.
“We had a prayer and, then, they left.”
Mitchell’s daughter is a pastor at New Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Ohio, so she has had plenty of opportunity to preach about love and loss, affairs of the heart.
But this struck close to home and showed her in a personal way that “God is at work in everything” and how “He’s still working miracles today.”
I asked Blackwell what prompted him to take a stranger into his home, to feed him and entertain him and keep him warm. What made him choose D?
“I just thought,” the painter answered, “that when I saw him, I saw somebody’s father, somebody’s grandfather, standing there in the cold, standing there in the snow.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/02/local_man_takes_in_elderly_gen.html
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Local Firefighter Becomes Family Hero
Travis Anders, Rives-Tompkins Firefighter: "I don't consider myself a hero at all. I'm just glad everybody's alive."
A local firefighter saves his neighbor's lives. That Jackson County family's home is gone, but they're happy to be alive. When someone passing by the Tompkins Township home spotted flames, they called 911. That's when Travis Anders got paged and rushed to the rescue.
Travis Anders: "I live just a couple houses down the road, so came here straight to the scene. When I showed up, the flames were actually coming through the roof."
The volunteer firefighter says he busted down the door.
Travis Anders: "And I was yelling, "fire department!," to see if anybody was in there."
At first no one responded. He says, that's because everyone was asleep.
Travis Anders: "They were not aware that the fire had started, so I told them to get out, so then they actually refused and didn't want to."
Anders says they didn't believe him, and actually thought someone was trying to break in. It wasn't until he convinced the family to come outside and see the flames for themselves that all four people made it out safely.
Travis Anders: "It's just what we do, no, I don't consider myself a hero at all. I'm just glad everybody's alive and OK."
Although he says he's no hero, what Anders did was heroic and may have prevented tragedy. The Red Cross is helping the family, and for now they're staying with relatives. Firefighters say the cause of that fire is not known at this time.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=11919132&nav=5D7v
A local firefighter saves his neighbor's lives. That Jackson County family's home is gone, but they're happy to be alive. When someone passing by the Tompkins Township home spotted flames, they called 911. That's when Travis Anders got paged and rushed to the rescue.
Travis Anders: "I live just a couple houses down the road, so came here straight to the scene. When I showed up, the flames were actually coming through the roof."
The volunteer firefighter says he busted down the door.
Travis Anders: "And I was yelling, "fire department!," to see if anybody was in there."
At first no one responded. He says, that's because everyone was asleep.
Travis Anders: "They were not aware that the fire had started, so I told them to get out, so then they actually refused and didn't want to."
Anders says they didn't believe him, and actually thought someone was trying to break in. It wasn't until he convinced the family to come outside and see the flames for themselves that all four people made it out safely.
Travis Anders: "It's just what we do, no, I don't consider myself a hero at all. I'm just glad everybody's alive and OK."
Although he says he's no hero, what Anders did was heroic and may have prevented tragedy. The Red Cross is helping the family, and for now they're staying with relatives. Firefighters say the cause of that fire is not known at this time.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=11919132&nav=5D7v
17-year-olds arraigned in Harper Woods break-ins
Two 17-year-old Harper Woods boys were arraigned today on attempted home invasion charges after Harper Woods police said they tried to break into a house on Kenmore.
http://www.michiganstandard.com/17-year-olds-arraigned-in-harper-woods-break-ins/
http://www.michiganstandard.com/17-year-olds-arraigned-in-harper-woods-break-ins/
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Metro Detroit schools step up security
Maureen Feighan / The Detroit News
Locked doors. Surveillance cameras. Keyless entry systems. Two-way radios.
Sound like the county jail? Try many local school districts.
More than 10 years after the Columbine High School shootings outside Denver permanently shattered the sense of security at schools across the country, districts across Metro Detroit continue to take steps to bolster security on their campuses.
Oxford Community Schools plans to spend $1 million reconfiguring the front entrances of its seven schools so visitors are directly routed to the front office. Chippewa Valley Schools wants to install surveillance cameras at its middle and elementary schools if voters approve a bond proposal next month.
And the Berkley School District plans to rework the front entrances of its high school and elementary schools, many of which are more than 60 years old, relocating them closer to parking areas to boost security if voters approve a $168 million bond next month. District leaders say it's not that their schools or communities are unsafe, but they need to do everything they can to keep students as secure as possible.
"Security is here to stay," said Chippewa Valley Schools Superintendent Mark Deldin. "We have an obligation to our community to make sure we don't drop the ball on having a lax security plan. We live in a different world today."
But at least one national school safety expert said it's not enough to put surveillance cameras in schools and reconfigure entranceways. Staff training is critical and school policies on paper don't always match up to what's happening in reality, he said.
"The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained staff and student body," said Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security consultant who's worked in school safety for more than 25 years and performs assessments across the country.
New measures added
School-associated violent deaths among children 5-18 years old continue to be rare events across the country, according to a joint report by the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Forty-three school-associated violent deaths occurred during the 2007-2008 school year, the most recent year that data was available, down from 57 in 1992-1993, according to the report. School-associated violent deaths include homicides, suicides or any unintentional firearm-related deaths.
The study, released in December, also found that far more children are killed away from school property than on it. Nearly 1,750 students, ages 5 to 18, were killed in homicides during the 2006-2007 school year -- all but 30 of those occurred away from school.
Still, districts in Michigan have taken steps to make their schools more secure, said William Mayes, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators. Schools have crisis intervention plans and districts often work closely with local police departments, he added.
"There is a great effort to make sure each and every student in the state of Michigan goes to school in a safe environment," he said.
Detroit Public Schools has some of the most extreme safety measures in place. Metal detectors and security guards are standard at district high schools. The district used to search students' clothing, backpacks and cars, but agreed to stop unless they had reasonable suspicion under a 2006 court order. The American Civil Liberties Union is now suing the district, alleging it violated that order at Mumford High School.
District officials, who couldn't be reached Thursday, have said they did increase security at Mumford because of ongoing problems there but denied they've conducted unconstitutional mass searches.
Entrances revised
And while metal detectors are less common in suburban districts, many are modifying school entrances to create "secured entryways." Parents and visitors can enter a front set of doors to get in the school's vestibule. There, they'll find a door to the front office because the doors to the actual school are locked.
Oxford decided to reconfigure its building entrances after former Fire Chief Jack LeRoy contacted the district two years ago to talk about security and a committee was formed with school administrators, police, fire and local leaders.
"As part of that, they did a walk through of all of our buildings, and we discovered our buildings were very vulnerable," said Jim Skilling, the Oxford Schools superintendent.
"In some cases, we don't even have visibility from the main office. Someone could come into our parking lot and we wouldn't know it ... We decided we needed to do something so someone would have to physically go into the office before entering the building."
Chippewa Valley Schools also has reworked its school entrances to guide visitors directly to the office, one of several new security measures over the last six years. The district also has completed the first phase of a swipe card access system at some of its schools.
And if voters approve an $89 million bond proposal next month, surveillance cameras -- roughly 600 are already in place at the district's two high schools and ninth-grade centers -- would also be installed at its four middle and 12 elementary schools.
Jerry Davisson, principal of Chippewa Valley High School, said he can't say enough about the surveillance cameras, which have been inside and outside the building since last March. He said they've cut down on bullying, vandalism, fighting, even theft.
"There's no way they're going to get away with stuff," Davisson said. "It's a deterrent more than anything."
Renee Jaczkowski of Clinton Township, the mother of fourth- and fifth-graders at Erie Elementary School, likes the new swipe card system there. And reconfiguring the school's entrance "was one of the best things that has happened to our school," she said, noting that the school is a polling place on election day and anyone could come in to vote.
"I do think you can never have too much security," said Jaczkowski, co-president of Erie's parent-teacher organization. "Is it absolutely necessary? I would hope that it wouldn't be. But in today's world, we want our kids to be safe."
Critics question extent
Still, is there such a thing as too much security? At least one school board member in Clinton Township thinks some measures go overboard, such as metal detectors.
"Obviously you want your kid to feel safe going to school," said Jason Davidson, president of the Clintondale School Board.
"(But) when you're talking about putting in metal detectors in (suburban districts), nobody wants to feel like they're going into a prison. Unfortunately things can happen anywhere. But at what point do you stop?"
mfeighan@detnews.com (586) 468-0520 From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100129/SCHOOLS/1290394/1026/local/Metro-Detroit-schools-step-up-security#ixzz0eONVoJeW
Locked doors. Surveillance cameras. Keyless entry systems. Two-way radios.
Sound like the county jail? Try many local school districts.
More than 10 years after the Columbine High School shootings outside Denver permanently shattered the sense of security at schools across the country, districts across Metro Detroit continue to take steps to bolster security on their campuses.
Oxford Community Schools plans to spend $1 million reconfiguring the front entrances of its seven schools so visitors are directly routed to the front office. Chippewa Valley Schools wants to install surveillance cameras at its middle and elementary schools if voters approve a bond proposal next month.
And the Berkley School District plans to rework the front entrances of its high school and elementary schools, many of which are more than 60 years old, relocating them closer to parking areas to boost security if voters approve a $168 million bond next month. District leaders say it's not that their schools or communities are unsafe, but they need to do everything they can to keep students as secure as possible.
"Security is here to stay," said Chippewa Valley Schools Superintendent Mark Deldin. "We have an obligation to our community to make sure we don't drop the ball on having a lax security plan. We live in a different world today."
But at least one national school safety expert said it's not enough to put surveillance cameras in schools and reconfigure entranceways. Staff training is critical and school policies on paper don't always match up to what's happening in reality, he said.
"The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained staff and student body," said Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security consultant who's worked in school safety for more than 25 years and performs assessments across the country.
New measures added
School-associated violent deaths among children 5-18 years old continue to be rare events across the country, according to a joint report by the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Forty-three school-associated violent deaths occurred during the 2007-2008 school year, the most recent year that data was available, down from 57 in 1992-1993, according to the report. School-associated violent deaths include homicides, suicides or any unintentional firearm-related deaths.
The study, released in December, also found that far more children are killed away from school property than on it. Nearly 1,750 students, ages 5 to 18, were killed in homicides during the 2006-2007 school year -- all but 30 of those occurred away from school.
Still, districts in Michigan have taken steps to make their schools more secure, said William Mayes, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators. Schools have crisis intervention plans and districts often work closely with local police departments, he added.
"There is a great effort to make sure each and every student in the state of Michigan goes to school in a safe environment," he said.
Detroit Public Schools has some of the most extreme safety measures in place. Metal detectors and security guards are standard at district high schools. The district used to search students' clothing, backpacks and cars, but agreed to stop unless they had reasonable suspicion under a 2006 court order. The American Civil Liberties Union is now suing the district, alleging it violated that order at Mumford High School.
District officials, who couldn't be reached Thursday, have said they did increase security at Mumford because of ongoing problems there but denied they've conducted unconstitutional mass searches.
Entrances revised
And while metal detectors are less common in suburban districts, many are modifying school entrances to create "secured entryways." Parents and visitors can enter a front set of doors to get in the school's vestibule. There, they'll find a door to the front office because the doors to the actual school are locked.
Oxford decided to reconfigure its building entrances after former Fire Chief Jack LeRoy contacted the district two years ago to talk about security and a committee was formed with school administrators, police, fire and local leaders.
"As part of that, they did a walk through of all of our buildings, and we discovered our buildings were very vulnerable," said Jim Skilling, the Oxford Schools superintendent.
"In some cases, we don't even have visibility from the main office. Someone could come into our parking lot and we wouldn't know it ... We decided we needed to do something so someone would have to physically go into the office before entering the building."
Chippewa Valley Schools also has reworked its school entrances to guide visitors directly to the office, one of several new security measures over the last six years. The district also has completed the first phase of a swipe card access system at some of its schools.
And if voters approve an $89 million bond proposal next month, surveillance cameras -- roughly 600 are already in place at the district's two high schools and ninth-grade centers -- would also be installed at its four middle and 12 elementary schools.
Jerry Davisson, principal of Chippewa Valley High School, said he can't say enough about the surveillance cameras, which have been inside and outside the building since last March. He said they've cut down on bullying, vandalism, fighting, even theft.
"There's no way they're going to get away with stuff," Davisson said. "It's a deterrent more than anything."
Renee Jaczkowski of Clinton Township, the mother of fourth- and fifth-graders at Erie Elementary School, likes the new swipe card system there. And reconfiguring the school's entrance "was one of the best things that has happened to our school," she said, noting that the school is a polling place on election day and anyone could come in to vote.
"I do think you can never have too much security," said Jaczkowski, co-president of Erie's parent-teacher organization. "Is it absolutely necessary? I would hope that it wouldn't be. But in today's world, we want our kids to be safe."
Critics question extent
Still, is there such a thing as too much security? At least one school board member in Clinton Township thinks some measures go overboard, such as metal detectors.
"Obviously you want your kid to feel safe going to school," said Jason Davidson, president of the Clintondale School Board.
"(But) when you're talking about putting in metal detectors in (suburban districts), nobody wants to feel like they're going into a prison. Unfortunately things can happen anywhere. But at what point do you stop?"
mfeighan@detnews.com (586) 468-0520 From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100129/SCHOOLS/1290394/1026/local/Metro-Detroit-schools-step-up-security#ixzz0eONVoJeW
Police warn community after string of break-ins
By Kate Jacobson (Last updated: 01/31/10 9:15pm)
A string of home invasions has put Meridian Township on the lookout for suspects.
Meridian Township police Sgt. Lana Howell said more than 20 home invasions have occurred in the past four months and each were done in a similar fashion. She said apartments in the area have been robbed after the suspects climb the balcony and enter through the sliding glass doors.
There are no suspects in connection with the break-ins.
Howell said home invasions are not a common crime in the area. The high volume of home invasions occurring in a similar fashion seems suspicious.
“It’s out of the ordinary that we are having this many in the area at one particular time,” she said.
The break-in suspects filled containers full of electronic equipment and exited through the front door, giving the appearance of someone moving out of the home. A vehicle would be waiting in the parking lot, where the suspects would load the electronics, Howell said.
One of the best ways to make sure items are secure in homes is to be familiar with the area and people around you, she said.
“We would ask (that) residents get to know their neighbors, so if someone does walk out of someone’s apartment with electronic equipment, they would know whether or not that is their neighbor,” she said.
East Lansing police Capt. Kim Johnson said although home invasion is not a big problem in East Lansing, it easily can be prevented by neighborhood watch.
“(The police) try to do our share, but we need help from the community too, because they know their neighborhoods better than we do,” Johnson said.
Simple things such as keeping an outdoor light on, locking all windows and doors and knowing your neighbors can protect your property when you are away, Johnson said.
Interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Eric Hughes said he always locks up whenever he leaves his apartment.
“The management sent a letter out in October that said apartments had been getting broken into,” he said. “I always keep my door locked.”
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said people can initiate neighborhood watch- type systems even in residence halls.
“People can do that on their floor, and they should be looking out for one another,” she said.
Comparative cultures and politics sophomore Laura Klinger said she feels safe in Case Hall, where she lives. However, every time she hears about break-ins, it makes her more conscious.
“East Lansing seems so safe,” she said. “It’s crazy and jarring when that happens because I feel like it’s not a possibility most of the time.”
_Staff writer Ellen Mitchell contributed to this report. _
http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/01/police_warn_community_after_string_of_breakins
A string of home invasions has put Meridian Township on the lookout for suspects.
Meridian Township police Sgt. Lana Howell said more than 20 home invasions have occurred in the past four months and each were done in a similar fashion. She said apartments in the area have been robbed after the suspects climb the balcony and enter through the sliding glass doors.
There are no suspects in connection with the break-ins.
Howell said home invasions are not a common crime in the area. The high volume of home invasions occurring in a similar fashion seems suspicious.
“It’s out of the ordinary that we are having this many in the area at one particular time,” she said.
The break-in suspects filled containers full of electronic equipment and exited through the front door, giving the appearance of someone moving out of the home. A vehicle would be waiting in the parking lot, where the suspects would load the electronics, Howell said.
One of the best ways to make sure items are secure in homes is to be familiar with the area and people around you, she said.
“We would ask (that) residents get to know their neighbors, so if someone does walk out of someone’s apartment with electronic equipment, they would know whether or not that is their neighbor,” she said.
East Lansing police Capt. Kim Johnson said although home invasion is not a big problem in East Lansing, it easily can be prevented by neighborhood watch.
“(The police) try to do our share, but we need help from the community too, because they know their neighborhoods better than we do,” Johnson said.
Simple things such as keeping an outdoor light on, locking all windows and doors and knowing your neighbors can protect your property when you are away, Johnson said.
Interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Eric Hughes said he always locks up whenever he leaves his apartment.
“The management sent a letter out in October that said apartments had been getting broken into,” he said. “I always keep my door locked.”
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said people can initiate neighborhood watch- type systems even in residence halls.
“People can do that on their floor, and they should be looking out for one another,” she said.
Comparative cultures and politics sophomore Laura Klinger said she feels safe in Case Hall, where she lives. However, every time she hears about break-ins, it makes her more conscious.
“East Lansing seems so safe,” she said. “It’s crazy and jarring when that happens because I feel like it’s not a possibility most of the time.”
_Staff writer Ellen Mitchell contributed to this report. _
http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/01/police_warn_community_after_string_of_breakins
Man Accused In Royal Oak Break-In
Royal Oak Woman Hides In Closet During Home Invasion
POSTED: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UPDATED: 12:46 pm EST January 28, 2010
ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- One of six people accused of being involved in a Royal Oak home invasion earlier this week was arraigned Thursday on unarmed robbery and conspiracy charges.
Darius Lewis, 20, a college student from California, was arraigned in 44th District Court. His bond was set at $200,000.
Royal Oak police said a woman hid in a closet with her two young children early Monday morning as a group of men who allegedly followed her home from work kicked in her front door.
Royal Oak Police Lt. Gordon Young said the woman was walking home at about 3 a.m. Monday from her greeter job at the gentleman's club Cheetah's when she noticed a dark Impala following her.
When the woman approached her home on Dorchester Street, Young said she again noticed the car without its lights on.
Once inside her home, Young said the woman called 911 and woke up her two children, ages 6 and 7, and a 19-year-old baby-sitter.
“They’re coming in my house right now … they’re going to break in,” the woman can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher.
Young said while the four were hiding in closets and a bathtub, at least two men broke into the house and yelled "ATF police, get down!"
Officers from the Royal Oak Police Department arrived and questioned two people inside two cars that were parked outside the house.
During that time, the two men who had broken into the house fled, Young said.
None of the people inside the house were harmed.
A short time later, a K-9 dog found two loaded semi-automatic handguns, a 9 mm and .40-caliber, under a bush on a nearby street and police set up a perimeter of the area with undercover officers.
Young said that just after noon Monday, officers noticed a car with three black males and female driver go past the victim's house several times.
Young said officers observed a man looking around the bush where the handguns had been found and took him into custody.
Police said the handguns were determined to be stolen.
Police said the four people who were seen driving in the car were arrested, in addition to the two people they arrested outside the house.
Aside from Lewis, the other five suspects, who police said ranged in ages from 17 to 20 years old, were questioned and released. But police said they could be taken back into custody and charged.
Police said they are not sure why the victim was followed, and that she has since moved out of the house on Dorchester Street.
“This is a very serious case. There’s very few similar cases that we’ve experienced here in Royal Oak like this,” Young said.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22357046/detail.html
POSTED: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UPDATED: 12:46 pm EST January 28, 2010
ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- One of six people accused of being involved in a Royal Oak home invasion earlier this week was arraigned Thursday on unarmed robbery and conspiracy charges.
Darius Lewis, 20, a college student from California, was arraigned in 44th District Court. His bond was set at $200,000.
Royal Oak police said a woman hid in a closet with her two young children early Monday morning as a group of men who allegedly followed her home from work kicked in her front door.
Royal Oak Police Lt. Gordon Young said the woman was walking home at about 3 a.m. Monday from her greeter job at the gentleman's club Cheetah's when she noticed a dark Impala following her.
When the woman approached her home on Dorchester Street, Young said she again noticed the car without its lights on.
Once inside her home, Young said the woman called 911 and woke up her two children, ages 6 and 7, and a 19-year-old baby-sitter.
“They’re coming in my house right now … they’re going to break in,” the woman can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher.
Young said while the four were hiding in closets and a bathtub, at least two men broke into the house and yelled "ATF police, get down!"
Officers from the Royal Oak Police Department arrived and questioned two people inside two cars that were parked outside the house.
During that time, the two men who had broken into the house fled, Young said.
None of the people inside the house were harmed.
A short time later, a K-9 dog found two loaded semi-automatic handguns, a 9 mm and .40-caliber, under a bush on a nearby street and police set up a perimeter of the area with undercover officers.
Young said that just after noon Monday, officers noticed a car with three black males and female driver go past the victim's house several times.
Young said officers observed a man looking around the bush where the handguns had been found and took him into custody.
Police said the handguns were determined to be stolen.
Police said the four people who were seen driving in the car were arrested, in addition to the two people they arrested outside the house.
Aside from Lewis, the other five suspects, who police said ranged in ages from 17 to 20 years old, were questioned and released. But police said they could be taken back into custody and charged.
Police said they are not sure why the victim was followed, and that she has since moved out of the house on Dorchester Street.
“This is a very serious case. There’s very few similar cases that we’ve experienced here in Royal Oak like this,” Young said.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22357046/detail.html
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