WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — "I'm relieved because I haven't been sleeping at night. I've been up, you know, worried," Famika Byrd of Warren said. "I constantly watch my windows, my cameras and everything, but I am shocked. But I am happy. I'm relieved."
Byrd said her family and their family dog have been on high alert since the morning in January where she saw something frightening on their home surveillance system.
A man had used a ladder to hop their fence overnight. They found the screen from their daughter's window missing.
Someone had been watching.
"And the thing is, when he was peeping, my daughter's room light was on. She was awake. But, you know, you can't see out when somebody is looking... and when your light is on," said Byrd, who was relieved when 7 Action News let her know that early Friday morning, police had arrested a suspect.
The 41-year-old man from Detroit is suspected in at least eight incidents in Warren, Eastpointe and now Oak Park.
"He's not only a Peeping Tom, but he has an extensive criminal record for home invasions, drugs, gun violations and the list goes on," Warren Police Department Commissioner William Dwyer said. "And we do know from experience that these type of crimes, Peeping Toms, they escalate."
Warren and Eastpointe police began working together to identify the suspect and then late Thursday night as they had their suspect under surveillance, they saw him walk into the backyard of a home in Oak Park.
Police said the man stood by a window and then hid behind a bush. Officers made their move as they man was trying to enter the home.
"The undercover officers observed the man prying open a back window," Dwyer said. "He was in the act of actually the home invasion itself."
The suspect is expected to soon face a judge and multiple charges.
Dwyer said they are encouraging anyone who believes they've had an encounter with the Peeping Tom and have not reported it to police to do so.
"What we're asking the public to do is to contact one of the three agencies (Warren, Eastpointe or Oak Park) if they have any information that will assist us in our investigation."
Byrd said her family will be able to sleep easier tonight.
"I am happy," she said.
