Break-in reported at Pittsfield Township home
Pittsfield Township police are investigating a home invasion on Sunday evening where an intruder, or intruders, broke the back window of the home to gain entry.
According to police, the incident occurred some time between 4 and 7:15 p.m. Sunday in the 4000 block of Washtenaw Avenue. Police said a Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy was seen in the driveway of the home just before the break-in was discovered.
The vehicle was tan or gold in color and from the early 2000s, police said.
Further information about the break-in was not available early Monday afternoon.
Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call the Pittsfield Township Police Department at 734-822-4911.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
RJA
Tue, Apr 3, 2012 : 5:43 a.m.
Stick to your guns Kyle, I wouldn't take this crap from a reader. (I think you do a great job with information given to you).
hmsp
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.
Any ideas as to when and how the sensationalized language got into the law?
Kyle Feldscher
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 7:56 p.m.
This is generally what I've stuck by: The police call it a home invasion and that's what I'm going to call it. You might call it inaccurate, but if they're going to call it a home invasion, I'm going to call it a home invasion. I'm not trying to fancy it up. I'm not trying to be sensationalistic. I'm calling it what my sources - the police, court officials, lawyers, etc. - call it. As for them being totally different crimes, the situation you present (armed/person home) is home invasion in the first degree. Breaking into an unoccupied home/building when no one is home or unarmed is home invasion in the second degree. Here's the link to the Michigan Penal Code: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(2vbn5pystbcfkg45wksbseim))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-750-110a
tdw
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.
You go boy ! tell'em like it is !
treetowncartel
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 7:17 p.m.
In Kyle's defense, "Home Invasion" is what this type of act is called now. There are varying degrees, just as there are with Criminal Sexual Conduct. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(h1ume0nozp02rh555y21hx45))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-750-110a Terms like B&E(Breaking and Entering) and burglary while common, are no longer used in Michigan law.
Eileen
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 6:59 p.m.
Gun or no gun, people home or not home, threat or no threat....someone forcefully went into another person's home uninvited for the purpose to take their belongings that they had no right to. This is alarming any way you look at it. I for one would be afraid to enter into my own home again in fear I may find someone if this was my home. How they put it isn't the point. It's the fact that noone has respect for others anymore and we need to come together as a community of people and look out for one another. Know your neighbors and look out for one another.
hmsp
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 : 6:41 p.m.
@ Kyle: Others have commented on this in the past, but I think the new fad of calling a burglary a "home invasion" is very misleading. Historically, "home invasion" has meant a (usually armed) entry into an occupied house during which the occupants are threatened and robbed. That is way different from breaking into an unoccupied house. What is the rationale for using this more exciting, but inaccurate language? How is the community served by this, and how do you, as a reporter, differentiate between the two totally different crimes?