BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A house in Brownstown Township is causing a stir after police say it was vandalized by the owner.
People living in the neighborhood say they are tired of looking at the satanic symbols and random names spray painted on the residence.
According to police, the man who did it is at the Wayne County Jail on unrelated crimes.
Nikki and Crystal Daubressy said through much of last year, they felt unsafe in their own neighborhood. They say the man who lived next door, Michael Keffer, started to unravel last year.
Neighbors say he would sometimes leave his kids outside in the cold for hours.
"He would only give them sweatpants and a jacket," Crystal Daubresse said. "I had to tell my mom to call the police to get them inside."
Brownstown police say back in October, neighbors called asking for a welfare check.
"We found that there were no incidents that required police intervention and over the course of the next couple weeks, we began to get calls from the neighborhood about erratic behavior going on at this house," said Chief Jeffery Watson with the Brownstown Police Department.
A woman who lives close by gave 7 Action News videos. The first shows Keffer seemingly arguing with police. Another shows him pacing around the house. And in a photo, he's actively vandalizing his own car.
Neighbors say aside from the satanic symbols, he also spray painted the names of people he planned to target.
"On the side of the house, it's literally threats. Like, which neighbor is next," Crystal Daubresse said.
Off camera, neighbors told us Keffer has harassed them, threatened their lives and even kept them up all night blasting music.
The Daubresse sisters say sometimes, Keffer would intimidate them by standing on the porch and staring as they got off the bus. Once, they had to ask a police officer for help.
"He was yelling at us," Nikki Daubresse said.
The mom of the two girls worked with the school district and police to have their bus stop moved away from Keffer's house.
"This behavior spilled out in some of our neighboring communities and it started to lead to arrests," Watson said. "He was arrested in Flat Rock for assault. He was released on bond there and was subsequently arrested for a felony in Taylor."
In Brownstown, he's facing misdemeanor ordinance violations. Police say they are working through the legal system, so they can access the home and clean it up.
Watson believes Keffer had a mental breakdown.
"We're doing everything we can to ameliorate the situation," Bownstown Township Supervisor Edward Smith said. "It's not only property value, but you got school kids walking by that, so we don't want people to see this. It's not characteristic of this neighborhood."
City officials are asking people in this neighborhood to be patient as the case makes its way through the courts.
