Shots fired on Edgewood Place Home Invader Gets Away (video)
(C. Proxmire, Ferndale 115 News, Oct. 19, 2012)
Thirty-four-year-old Dupree Smith got a rude awakening this morning as he lay sleeping on the couch. At about 10:45am he was awakened by unusual sounds coming from the back of the house.
After spending four years with the US Army, Smith had a good instinct that something was not right. His father, who served with the US Marines, was gone to work and there was no one else it could have been.
“I heard a noise in the back room like something fell off a shelf or something,” Dupree told The Ferndale 115 News. “My father and I live together and I knew he had to work this morning so I got up and looked out and saw his car wasn’t there so I sat back down for a minute and kept hearing it so I went ahead and grabbed my weapon and went to the back room. And I yelled out ‘Dad, Dad.’
“And I hear no answer so I went to the door and I hear the window shatter. And when I hear the window shatter I fired twice at the window, when I seen the silhouette. And then once I fired twice I came to the front door and there was a pickup truck sitting in my driveway with a guy in it… I was going to my neighbor’s house to ask them to call the police for me. I came out. I seen him and I fired twice. He pulled out and took off down the street. And then I called the police and they was here in like 30 seconds.”
Smith said he thinks it was most likely two guys who were working together. “I don’t think he’d of gotten around to the front that quick, and he was just sitting there. He seemed surprised when I came out shooting.”
He added that he wanted to run after him and keep shooting like in the movies, but that he thought of the neighbors and decided “nah, it’s Ferndale. The police will get ‘em.”
So far the suspect(s) remain at large. Police are asking residents in Ferndale and surrounding cities to keep their eyes open for a silver Ford Ranger pick-up with an Oxbow logo on the side of it. There may be bullet holes in it. The truck was reported stolen from Livonia, and it was used in another crime in Troy on Oct. 18, according to a press release by Ferndale Lt. Gary Whiting. The license plate is CB8 9913. The driver was a “stocky white guy,” according to Smith.
As far as safety goes, Smith said he’s not worried. “It wouldn’t make sense to come back. The police will be looking for them, and they know we’re here now.” He also said that he doesn’t know why they picked his house, although many houses on the street are larger and have windows that are higher off the ground. “Someone said earlier that everything happens for a reason. I mean, if they were going to do this, I’m glad it was my house and that I was home. A lot of these houses have families in them, women, senior citizens and that. Who knows what else could have happened.”
If you have any information about the suspects, please call Lt. Whiting at 248-541-3650. Or if you spot the vehicle in any neighboring city, call the local police or 911
UPDATE: Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins has announced that the suspect has been apprehended. 10/22/2012