Police say the suspect broke in through unlocked windows to target girls.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said tips from the community led to the arrest of this teenage suspect.
“As soon as we realized what we had in terms of complexity and repetitive nature, we put it out to the community and got a quick response,” Bouchard said. “The suspect is 13 years old. He’s a tall 13-year-old, and the parent, I would also say, has been cooperative.”
Detectives said the suspect lives near the Pontiac homes that he targeted, looking for girls.
The break-ins started two years ago. Bouchard said some of them were never reported, and it was just recently when multiple break-ins took place that detectives linked them all together.
“This is the worst nightmare for any parent that somebody might be trying to climb in through a window to get after their kids,” Bouchard said.
In all 11 of the break-ins, Bouchard said, the suspect broke in through an unlocked window. In at least three, he used a knife to threaten the victim.
7 News Detroit spoke to the family of three of those victims, including a 9-year-old girl in Detroit targeted on Jan. 13, a 10-year-old girl in Pontiac targeted on Tuesday and a 15-year-old girl in Pontiac targeted in October.
That 15-year-old is Shauntay Pryor’s daughter.
“She wanted to know who it was. Apparently, the little kids around the town, middle schoolers, and high schoolers, had a little group chat going on; they knew who it was before we did,” Pryor said.
Pryor said police confirmed the suspect’s identity to her. He is in the same class at school as Pryor’s 13-year-old son.
The suspect knew where they lived from watching her kids get off the school bus.
“That day he broke in my house, for some reason, he had a feeling it was him,” Pryor said.
