2 Highland Men Arraigned On Felony Larceny, Home Invasion Charges

Two Highland men that deputies say are responsible for taking thousands of dollars worth of items from home in Livingston County, Highland and White Lake were arraigned Jan. 25 and Jan. 30.

According to Det. Jim Bowie with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Highland Substation, Michael Robert Brown, 21 was arraigned Jan. 25 on two counts of felony home invasion, first degree; one count of breaking and entering; and one count of larceny from auto. Brown's bond was set at $250,000 cash. Brown was also arraigned on November 2012 on similar charges by White Lake Police for larcenies in White Lake.

Nicholas Paul Kent, 25, was arraigned Jan. 30 on one count of felony home invasion, first degree and one misdemeanor count of breaking and entering of an automobile. Kent's bond was set at $100,000 cash.

Bowie said both men were active in larcenies and break-in in the area during the months of October and November last year.

"We had so much property that we recovered, it took a long time to get is all cataloged and identified," Bowie said.

Items taken ranged from tools and jewelry to a variety of electronics and GPS units.

Bowie said the two men both confessed to the larcenies and said they had taken so many items even they couldn't keep track of what they took and when. In some cases, Bowie said, the items weren't sold to pawn shops, but to the men's drug dealer.

"Brown told us they would get high and then go out steal things, he said he'd wake up the next morning and not know how the items got in his room," Bowie said.

Brown and Kent were caught when a person who had items taken found them in a pawn shop in Waterford. Other items were positively identified at the store as items taken from Highland and White Lake.

Once arrested and charged by White Lake in November, Bowie said he started to gather the remainder of the property so it could get returned to residents in the area.

Bowie said a number of items have been returned, however there are a large number of items that were not claimed because the owners likely didn't realize the items are missing. Those items are being stored right now, and include the following:

• Costume jewelry
• Angle grinder
• Micrometer
• UAW Union Pins
• Motorcycle helmet
• Staple gun
• Mosquito fogger
• Sander
• Circular saw

Bowie said these items all went missing sometime between September 2012 and November 2012.

If you think any of the items are your you can call Det. Bowie at 248-887-6240.