A 13-year-old boy has been arrested for breaking into several homes, including one incident where he attacked a young girl while holding a knife.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard from Oakland County reported that this boy is quite tall for his age and has been linked to 11 break-ins, with nine happening in Pontiac and two in Detroit. In at least three of these cases, he was armed with a knife. The boy’s parent has been helpful during the investigation.
“They were very willing to bring him to our office and let us handle the situation,” Bouchard said. “Like many parents, they want to understand what’s going on with their child, especially if he is heading down a bad path.”
The boy particularly targeted homes with young girls inside. His arrest was made possible thanks to tips from the public and thorough police work. The parent told investigators that they were aware the teen had some problems, but they didn’t realize it was this serious.
Originally, there was supposed to be a court hearing at Children’s Village last Friday, but it has now been postponed for today.
“I thought it was important for the community to know they can relax a bit,” Bouchard said. “We know some residents were patrolling their neighborhoods because of their concerns. I wanted to help ease their anxiety and fear.”
He added, “This is every parent’s worst nightmare: someone trying to break into their home to harm their children, especially young girls.”
The break-ins started on December 23 and occurred between 3 and 7 a.m. The suspect entered through unlocked windows in the same neighborhood in Pontiac over a six-week period.
“He was going through open windows. In one case, he tried to get to a 10-year-old girl, but she scared him away with her screams,” said Sheriff Sgt. Sam James.
