Thomas Michael Johnson, 51, of Van Buren Township was arraigned at 34th District Court on charges of Receiving and Concealing stolen goods after VBT police found him with a stolen flat-screened TV and other stolen items.
His bond was set at $200. His preliminary exam will be held at 9 a.m. April 18 at 34th District Court in Romulus. Since he had other felony warrants for his arrest from other police departments, he remained in the VBT lockup.
VBT Police Captain Gregory Laurain said the TV Johnson had in his possession matched the one taken in a home invasion in the 51000 block of Old Michigan Avenue just before midnight on April 3.
The homeowner reported the break-in around 11:55 p.m. She noticed the back door was open and the screen propped open. It appeared that entry was initially gained through a bedroom window then the suspect or suspects fled through the rear door, Captain Laurain said.
Taken was a flat-screened TV, a camcorder, guitar amplifier, and about $20 in change. A police evidence technician was called in to process the scene, Laurain said.
On April 4, while following up on prior home invasions in the area, Special Investigative Unit personnel came in contact with Johnson who had the TV from the most recent Old Michigan break-in.
Laurain said police obtained a search warrant on the man’s residence and several items were seized that were believed to be stolen.
“Our officers have been constantly working these Home Invasion cases and we hope this latest arrest will uncover further leads into solving these break-ins in that area,” Laurain said.
He referred to more than 40 break-ins over the past few months in the Denton Subdivision area, Old Michigan Rd. homes, and VBT homes just north of Michigan Avenue.
VBT Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan recently stated that Canton Township also has many forced-entry home invasions along the Michigan Avenue corridor.
Van Buren Street incident
Captain Laurain said an incident at around 9:13 p.m. April 4 at 10905 Van Buren Street in Haggerty Subdivision was a fight between two men. One man had a superficial wound to his arm, Laurain said. Captain Laurain said the incident remains under investigation, but police believe information is being withheld by the injured person.
Hold-Up Alarm
The hold-up alarm at 7:38 p.m. April 7 at 9556 Belleville Road (Millenium Wireless) actually was an error, according to the alarm company, and not a hold up, Captain Laurain said.