Royal Oak Home Invasion Suspect Arrested

A Southfield man has been charged in a break-in and attempted break-in at a Royal Oak apartment building late Wednesday night, according to Royal Oak Police.

In recent weeks, Royal Oak residents have reported  in the area and scattered throughout the city as well as thefts from garages and vehicles.

According to Royal Oak Police, at 11:55 p.m. Wednesday the department received a 911 call from a resident of the 3800 block of Hillside Court off West 13 Mile Road. The homeowner reported she heard someone trying to break into her house. Royal Oak officers responded to the area of West 13 Mile Road between Woodward and Greenfield and immediately set up a perimeter to locate the suspect, Royal Oak Police Lt. Tom Goad said.

The responding officers were aware of similar home invasions in the area and began a strategic search of the apartment buildings on West 13 Mile Road. A short time later, the officers observed two suspects behind the Urbane on 13 apartment building on West 13 Mile Road east of Greenfield. The two suspects were carrying pillowcases filled with property. As officers approached the suspects, they dropped the property and fled. One suspect was apprehended and the second suspect escaped.

During the officers’ investigation, a second home invasion was discovered at the Urbane apartments. The officers were able to positively identify a laptop, Xbox 360 and other property that was taken from the apartment.

Devone Winbush, 21, of Southfield, was arraigned Friday morning in  before District Magistrate Kenneth Roy and charged with second degree home invasion and attempted home invasion. He was in jail on $20,000, 10 percent bond and a pre-exam conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 3.

Several other home invasions were reported in and around the same area this past week, including three on nearby Prairie Street and several the previous week along West 13 Mile Road and Cummings.

The Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the connection between this home invasion and the others in the area, Goad said. He did not release more information about the other suspect in Wednesday's incident.

"There has been a spike (in home invasions) between this year and last year," Goad said, adding he was not able to provide specific numbers at this time.

Tips for staying safe

Goad offered the following suggestions for residents to keep their homes and themselves safe:

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Make sure the outside of your home has good lighting
• Clean up newspapers and mail from the outside of your home. "Make sure it doesn't look like no one is at home," Goad said.
• Watch out for your neighbors – homes, cars and property.
• Call police if you see anything out of the ordinary or someone acting suspicious. Residents "are best at telling us what doesn't seem normal," Goad said.

If you have any information on any of the incidents, call Royal Oak Police at (248) 246-3500 or call 911 if you suspect an emergency situation.