A Warren man broke into several local churches and has been arrested,the Warren Police Department said, after officers found him in the same clothes the suspect was seen wearing in surveillance footage.
Officials say between March 31 and April 20, police responded to eight reports of overnight forced-entry burglaries at churches throughout Warren, a suburb of just north of Detroit.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office charged the 37-year-old Warren man with eight counts of breaking & entering a building with intent, a 10-year felony, and one count of illegal use of a financial transaction device, a four-year felony.
He was also charged as a fourth offender and was an active parole absconder for home invasion crimes at the time of the incident. He has previous convictions for theft, assault, and multiple home invasions.
“Two assigned detectives identified a consistent pattern in these crimes, noting that the suspect gained entry by breaking windows or doors, rummaged through office paperwork, and tampered with onsite security systems,” police said in a release.
Detectives say the man approached buildings on a cruiser bicycle and developed a detailed physical description of the suspect, noting he wore specific clothing during the break-ins.
Police also said a computer stolen during one of the break-ins was used to conduct several transactions.
After establishing surveillance on the man, police say they saw him exiting his Warren apartment wearing clothes similar to that seen in footage, and riding the same bike.
Search warrants executed at homes associated with the man recovered multiple pieces of stolen property, including financial items linked to the churches.
Judge Jennifer Faunce set bond in the case at $800,000.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren man charged in connection with multiple church break-ins
Reporting by Jalen Williams, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
