Man makes citizen's arrest to stop intruders from entering neighbor's home

YPSILANTI (WXYZ) - Rita Marshall can’t thank her neighbor Mike Kennedy enough for the brave act he did to keep his neighborhood safe.

Marshall uses her home as a day care and locked it up for the weekend.

Then, Saturday morning, Kennedy and his wife saw some suspicious activity at the house along Harry Road in Ypsilanti.

 “I go to get my shoes.   As I go to get my shoes, I hear the glass shatter.  I’m licensed to carry.  So I go over there not knowing what I was going to see,” said Kennedy.

Police said they have identified 18-year-old Dezman Makowski-Smith and 17-year-old Donte Smith as the suspects who were trying to break into the home to steal items from inside.

 “Draw my firearm, saw it was kids, put my firearm up, came and talked to them, made they sit down-- tried to get in their head and see what they were about,” said Kennedy.

While Kennedy’s wife called police, Kennedy kept taking to the teens until the Washtenaw County deputies arrived.

He was saddened the teens had resorted to crime to pick up a little cash. “They were breaking inside to get some money.  I tried to explain to them, this isn’t the way to get it.”

Kennedy doesn’t think he is a hero.  He believes he was just doing the right thing. His family and those who live nearby our proud of him.

 “Yes I am.  I raised him right,” said Kennedy’s father Melvin Kennedy.  “A lot of folks around here need to do the same thing.”

 “I am so happy to have a responsible neighbor because if it wasn’t for him I don’t know what would have happened to my home,” said Marshall.   

Marshall told 7 Action News the glass has been cleaned up and she will be getting a new window tomorrow.  Meanwhile, the two suspects were taken to the Washtenaw county jail.

They will be charged with malicious destruction of property and home invasion.