Suspect in Rochester Hills wanted in several break in incidents

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A rash of car and home break-ins in Metro Detroit has the Oakland County Sheriff issuing a warning while looking for help to catch the burglar. 

Over the past two weeks, 16 victims have filed reports with the sheriff's office, reporting someone has attempted to get into their car parked in the driveway or, in some cases, get into the house. The people living around here want this activity to stop.

Home security camera footage showed the prime suspect wanted for 16 different reports of criminal activity, ranging from checking car doors to worse.

"Just kind of walking up to a house, to trying to open a door, trying to open a side garage door into the actual residence, which is very alarming," said Renae Smith.

Smith says her Rochester Hills neighborhood, near Hamlin and Adams, has everything anyone would want. "It’s very private and cozy, and we all feel very safe."

Including neighbors who look out for one another. 

She says the people who live next door were out of town recently and got an alert; their home videocam was triggered.

"They spotted a strange man walking very boldly into their backyard. Looking at their house. It was very alarming to them. Their floodlight turned on, and he turned around and made his way back to the street."

Renae says word started to spread about a guy with a similar description creeping around. 

She’s not the only one. Fifteen other police reports of suspicious activity have come into the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. 

The sheriff was asked on Monday if this could be linked to some international organized crime that has also been happening in this same area. He says they are unrelated, but added that those gangs are still active, with another report of a home invasion just a couple of days ago.