13-year-old suspected in a series of Metro Detroit home invasions targeting young women in custody

    DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) -- A 13-year-old boy suspected of committing a series of home invasions targeting young women in Pontiac and Detroit is in custody, Oakland County officials said.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says investigators believe the suspect is responsible for upwards of 11 home invasions, including nine in Pontiac.

The suspect was expected to appear in court Friday afternoon.

Bouchard said a community member came forward after recognizing the teen in a photo, and that the suspect's parent has been cooperative in the investigation.

"Tragically, we've seen children do very dangerous and violent things, scary things. The moniker of a child doesn't necessarily mean they're not capable of doing something very terrible to another person, as we saw at Oxford High School," Bouchard said.

Detectives have been investigating at least four attempted or successful home invasions that use similar methods. All four incidents have happened between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. since Dec. 23.

The most recent attempt happened around 4 a.m. on Feb. 4 in the 100 block of North Anderson Street. The sheriff's office said a man wearing a ski mask and armed with a knife choked a 10-year-old girl who had been sleeping. The girl screamed and the suspect was frightened off; the girl's mother saw the man running down the stairs and out of the home.

The girl was not injured.

"In terms of physical injuries, thank God we have very little, but obviously the emotional impact, when you're a child in your bedroom, the most safe and secure thing at home, there obviously has to be a process for them to deal with that trauma, that emotional trauma, that mental health. I think that's going to be the biggest, ongoing thing," Bouchard said.

The three other home invasions took place in the 600 block of Northway, 100 block of North Edith and 100 block of North Marshall. In each case, a person entered a home or attempted to gain entry through an unlocked window. The suspect appeared to target homes where teens or young girls lived. The suspect had a knife in three of the incidents.

Prior home invasions with similar circumstances to these four recent cases are also under investigation, officials said. Some of the break-ins date back to 2022.

"I really felt it was important for the community to bring it down a notch in terms of their anxiety and fear," Bouchard said. "This is the worst nightmare for any parent that somebody might be trying to climb in through a window to get after their kids, especially a young teenage girl."