WARREN (WWJ) -- A Detroit man is accused of carrying a ladder around and peering into windows of multiple homes in three suburban communities.
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer on Friday announced the arrest of a 41-year-old suspect he calls a "serial peeping Tom" in connection with at least eight peeping incidents in Warren, Eastpointe and Oak Park.
The investigation by the Warren PD Special Operations Unit (SOU) began back in January, when the first call came in about a peeping Tom spotted in neighborhoods near Toepfer/MacArthur and Toepfer/Schoenherr Rd.
Then in February, police said a second report came in about a peeping Tom in the same area.
In both instances, police said residents reported seeing an unknown man prowling around their homes in the late evening or early morning hours. And in both cases, the witnesses said the man carrying a ladder and using it to peek into their windows.
In one of the instances, police sad a woman reported that a window screen been removed, and that the man was trying to look into her daughter’s bedroom.
Police said another caller captured images of the suspect in his yard a doorbell camera.
According to Warren PD, suspects in cases like this have been known to escalate their behaviors into home invasions and sexual assaults.
With that in mind, police said finding this man became a top priority.
During the course of the investigation, Warren detectives learned that Eastpointe Police had six similar incidents involving what they believed to be the same suspect — again peering into windows using a ladder.
With help from the Eastpointe PD, an arrest was made the night of Feb. 16.
Police said they tracked the suspect to Oak Park, where officers allegedly caught him in the act.
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"While conducting surveillance on the suspect, SOU members watched as the suspect walked to/from the backyard of an occupied residence several times," police said in a release. "SOU members watched as this suspect approached the residence, stood by a window, and peered inside the residence, ultimately hiding behind a bush."
Police said there were several children under the age of 16 living in that home.
The suspect got into a car and fled the scene, but was quickly arrested without incident, police said.
Police the suspect’s criminal history shows several previous felony convictions for home invasion, drugs, and weapons offenses.
Investigators will present the case to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review and charges.
“Whenever we receive reports such as these, I immediately assign investigators and SOU members to the case," Dwyer said, in a statement. "We know the importance of quickly identifying and arresting the suspect before he escalates his behavior into more violent crime. Warren Investigators and SOU members collaborated with Eastpointe PD and developed a strategy to identify and track the suspect.
"...Thankfully, this suspect is off the streets and will no longer be frightening residents in the tri-county area.”
The suspect's name and photo will be released after he's arraigned on expected charges.
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