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Crime Report: Vacant Homes Targeted in Break-Ins

The following information was supplied by the Dearborn Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Three Dearborn homes that are vacant and under renovation were broken into within the past week, according to reports. Two were robbed of copper piping.

On the 7900 block of Freda, a vacant home owned by a Dearborn Heights resident was found to be missing copper plumbing from the basement around 4 p.m. March 18. The owner, who plans to rent the property, said he had not been to the house to check on it since March 11.

On the 800 block of Mohawk, also on March 18, a homeowner staying nearby on Vernon while her Mohawk house is being renovated found that someone had broken inside.

According to the owner, one of the entry doors was forced open to gain entry. Signs of an intruder of the four-legged variety were apparent, including scratch marks and paw prints on the walls, as well as animal feces in one of the rooms. The woman assured police that she and her husband do not own a dog.

Nothing was stolen, but a break-in time was hard to pinpoint, as the couple had not checked on the home since March 12.

A third vacant home was broken into during the early morning hours of March 19.

Owners of the property on the 7500 block of Ternes told police that between 10:30 p.m. March 18 and the following morning, someone had broken in by smashing a window, and had stolen copper pipe from their basement. The piping was later found in a garbage bag near the property line.

A neighbor across the street said that he was sitting on his porch around 2:30 a.m. and saw someone hop the fence from the property next door, which is also a vacant home. The neighbor said that the culprit was a short, thin man, but had no other descriptors.

For questions on this blotter, email jessica.carreras@patch.com.

Thomas Barszczowski March 21, 2012 at 08:09 pm
I think that the people buying the copper should be held responsible, too. They take ID and know repeaters who could be reported to police. I mean, if they bring in an aluminum bleacher, they have to know it comes from a park or school. Stop making it so easy to dispose of and they will have no place to get rid of it, LEGALLY.
Jack Thomas March 22, 2012 at 03:02 am
It's important to purchase the correct policy. The basic dwelling fire policy will not cover theft of copper.
Jack Thomas Http://www.pathwayinsurance.net
Patrick Picking March 26, 2012 at 06:06 pm
I tried to get insurance on my vacant property, but was told your company won't insure a vacant house. How do people get insurance for vacant houses, or properties up north that they don't live in?

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Tom B June 18, 2013 at 07:42 pm
Way too much for a college having financial problems.
Daniel Lai (Editor) June 12, 2013 at 03:09 pm
Here is a copy of the terms of service. http://dearborn.patch.com/terms We will not tolerateRead More readers posting with curse words or attacking other readers. Thank you for your comments. Have a nice week. If you require further clarification, you are welcome to email me.
Gary Woronchak June 12, 2013 at 10:32 am
Hasn't even worked one day? Not one day in 15 years? Really? Not even credit for one day? When IRead More worked at the Press & Guide (which eliminated my position in a budget restructuring that has continued under various corporate owners at the P&G for a decade and a half, resulting in them moving their offices to Southgate and more recently just out-and-out eliminating their editor, sports editor and photographer) we had a policy of no anonymous letters to the editor. This was done because, while everyone has the right to express their opinion, putting a real name with an opinion meant people displayed more decorum and, well, less cowardice than is allowed in online comments from the shadows. Joseph, the benefit of post-employment health care after just eight years of service may have, in the early 1990s, been more acceptable in some way I can't figure (retention of key department heads has been cited as a reason, as was that it apparently mirrored a benefit for state officials), but it clearly was part of the excesses of Wayne County that was unjustifiable and unsustainable in the 2000s. This practice was ended two years ago by a resolution I introduced.
Daniel Lai (Editor) June 12, 2013 at 11:22 am
The original comment has been deleted because it violates our terms of service.
Joseph Borrajo June 13, 2013 at 10:08 am
Thank you Gary Woroncahk for the response.
laplateau June 11, 2013 at 11:28 am
Yeah, unless the drinking trough is filled with taxpayer water.
laplateau June 10, 2013 at 03:49 pm
Joseph, Are you bordering upon slander? Is this the reason for no more info? I hope you are not.Read More Perhaps you are picking up on some nasty rumors and repeating them here. You should know better than to do that. So, if you have real proof, tell it like it is and don't hedge. What you are saying in your post is dangerous to you and those who you are referring to, so, as the saying goes...put up or shut up.
Judith Lundy June 10, 2013 at 05:56 pm
Whether or not the facts of this opinion piece are true, I thoroughly believe Robert McNamara wasRead More the personal trainer for Kwame Kilpatrick. McNamera would have been spending a lot of time in prison if he didn't die. Ficano is a joke in my estimation. I know no one who wants him to remain in office. With today's survellience techniques and high tech gadgets, politicians can no longer get away with what they did in the past.
Joseph Borrajo June 10, 2013 at 10:19 pm
Follow the money!