BLOOMFIELD TWP. (WWJ) — A week after Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard warned of another string of high-end home burglaries in the area, Bloomfield Township police officials have released details surrounding two home invasions last week.
On Thursday, March 28, police were called to a home on Square Lake Road near Adams Road, where the burglars had entered by breaking into an exterior door leading directly to a bedroom.
Police officials say the suspect “ransacked” the closet, and took several pieces of jewelry. Authorities believe it took place sometime between Tuesday and Thursday.
Officers were called the next day to a home on Sudbury Way, near the Heathers Club of Bloomfield, for another home invasion that happened while the homeowner had been out of town.
Bloomfield Twp. police officials say both incidents are believed to be connected to the South American theft groups that have targeted high-end Oakland County homes in recent months.
“We encourage extra vigilance and remind our community to call on anything suspicious,” officials said.
Anyone who knows something about either case is urged to contact the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248-433-7755.
Nick Soley with the Bloomfield Twp. Police Department told WWJ authorities have linked the crime ring to the recent break-ins not only through their M.O., but with physical evidence, including surveillance footage.
He noted no specific people have been identified as suspects, but the department is working with neighboring jurisdictions.
Last week Bouchard had said as many as four homes had been targeted by the group of "highly trained" burglars, which officials say predominantly come from Chile and Venezuela.
“They were taking a lot of money out of very high-end homes,” Bouchard said at a recent press conference. “A lot of our victims are names everybody in this room would know.”
The thieves have targeted homes in affluent neighborhoods in Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Pointe Farms, Rochester and Rochester Hills and have stolen millions in cash and jewelry.
Last fall Bouchard told WWJ the group targeted somewhere between 30-40 homes in Oakland County alone.
Officials say the crews, typically consisting of three or four suspects, target expensive homes — especially million-dollar homes — that have thick landscaping and/or back up to wooded areas, trees, shrubs, trails or golf courses, according to prior reports.
In December Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged three Chilean nationals with a series of burglaries in Metro Detroit and Grand Rapids.