Pittsfield Police continue to seek suspects as shooting victim recovers
Pittsfield Township police continue to search for two suspects involved in a shooting that seriously injured a man last week at Evergreen Apartments.
Authorities said a 31-year-old man was shot after two men forced their way into his apartment in the 3100 block of Woodland Hills Drive and a fight ensued around 11:22 p.m. Aug. 1. The victim was hit multiple times in the face with a handgun and shot once in the left temple.
Gordy Schick, the township’s deputy director of public safety, said police were able to interview the victim in the hospital, though it was a slow process as his ability to communicate is limited by his injuries. The victim was unable to provide a further description of the suspects beyond two black males between the ages of 20 and 25.
The victim’s condition continues to improve, Schick said Monday.
Police believe the shooting was drug-related, though Schick said Monday he does not think there is active drug-trafficking going on in the area.
“It was a random act associated potentially with the person living there and the fact he was in possession of narcotics,” Schick said. “We believe there were known drugs there and we think that was a motivating factor.”
Many residents in the victim’s building were not home the night of the shooting because of a power outage in the area.
An upstairs neighbor, Michael Perry, called 911 after the victim knocked on his door just after 11 p.m. Perry said he heard no unusual noises downstairs and did not see anyone unusual entering or leaving the building earlier that night as he waited outside for electricity to be restored.
Anyone who may have information on the shooting is asked to contact police at (734) 822-4911 or the department’s anonymous tip line at (734) 822-4958.
Heidi Fenton covers police and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heidifenton@annarbor.com or 734-623-4673. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.
Comments
Ashley
Fri, Aug 12, 2011 : 11:35 p.m.
I lived there for a year, a few months ago, I moved out for several reasons, However, there more than likely drug trafficking, how do I figure? One night we had someone come into our building at 3 am, after buzzing all of the apartments to get in, he went up the the 3rd floor and started screaming WHERE IS MY MONEY! this happens to be a guy's aparment that smoked a lot of pot, and who knows what else. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am jumping to conclusions, but to me it seems very possible. Another reason? Gangs, I know it sounds crazy, but even a police officer told us that when we told him we had someone try to break into our apartment 3 times wearing all red. You could sit at your window and see people sitting in their cars, and as soon as a cop entered the complex, they all backed out, at the same time, and about 20 cars from other buildings would follow the other cars, then they would come back later that night. So as far as this being random? I dont believe it. I hope this person recovers well, and I hope that this pushes McKinley to finally start cracking down on this place, because within the year I lived there, it got worse and worse every day. Yes I did inform Evergreen of these problems, and as it says in my comment the police are also aware, or at least that one officer.
Basic Bob
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
What is Schick's definition of active drug trafficking? Neon signs and websites? Most drug sales are informal, you visit the dope house and cop a bag. If you are doing a little distribution on your own, you might get some drugs on consignment. But if you are like most small time drug dealers and you are your own best customer, you better borrow the money from somebody else to pay the dope man. Or you can expect a knock on the door.... By the way, this kind of activity is not exclusive to Evergreen Apartments. They are just more likely to run into cash flow problems that turn into unexplained violence.
Dave66
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 12:10 p.m.
Let's review. Two guys go to an apartment where it is know that there are drugs. They beat and shoot the guy who lives there. Yet this is "random" and there is no "active" drug trafficking. Ummm... Yeah. Right.
marlean leach
Tue, Aug 9, 2011 : 11:31 a.m.
Schick thinks it wasn't drug related??? What is he smoking???