Brownstown Township, Mich. (WXYZ) – Brownstown Township is on the prowl after police say a homeowner broke into vandalism.
Residents in the neighborhood say they are tired of seeing satanic symbols and random names spray painted on residences.
According to police, the man who did this is in Wayne County Jail on unrelated crimes.
Nikki and Crystal Doubrese said they felt unsafe in their neighborhood over the past year. They say Michael Kiefer, who lives next door, started spotting last year.
Neighbors say he sometimes left his children outside in the cold for hours.
“He would only give them sweatpants and a jacket,” said Crystal Doubrese. “I had to tell my mom to call the police to get them inside.”
Brownstown police say neighbors called in October asking for a welfare check.
Chief Jeffrey Watson of the Brownstown Police Department said, “We found no incidents that required police intervention and over the course of the next few weeks, we began receiving calls from the neighborhood about erratic behavior going on at this home. “
A woman living nearby gave 7 videos of Action News. At first Kiefer is shown arguing with the police. Another shows him pacing around the house. And in one photo, he’s actively sabotaging his own car.
Neighbors say that in addition to satanic symbols, he also spray painted the names of the people he planned to target.
“On the home side, it’s really threatening. Like, which neighbor is next,” said Crystal Doubrese.
Off camera, neighbors told us Kiefer harassed them, threatened their lives and even blared music all night.
The Doubres sisters sometimes say Kiefer used to scare them by standing on the porch and staring at them as they got off the bus. Once he had to ask a police officer for help.
“He was yelling at us,” Nikki Dubresi said.
The mother of two girls worked with the school district and police to have their bus stop moved away from Kiefer’s home.
“This behavior spread to some of our neighboring communities and it led to arrests,” Watson said. “He was arrested in Flat Rock for assault. He was released there on bond and was later arrested in Taylor for a felony.”
In Brownstown, he is facing a misdemeanor ordinance violation. Police say they are working through the legal system so they can access the house and clear it.
Watson believed that Kiefer had suffered a mental breakdown.
“We’re doing everything we can to rectify the situation,” said Bownstown Township Supervisor Edward Smith. “It’s not just the property value, but you also have school kids, so we don’t want people to see that. It’s not characteristic of this neighborhood.”
City officials are asking residents of this neighborhood to be patient as the case moves through the courts.
