GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (May 12, 2014) — A teenager was taken into police custody after allegedly breaking into a former police officer’s home on Monday.
Brady Veltman, 19, was booked into the Ottawa County Jail on several charges, including first-degree home invasion.
It all began shortly after 3 a.m. in the 6800 block of Maier Avenue. Audra Guikema, co-owner of the home, said she was getting ready for work when she heard a car alarm go off.
“When I looked out the window I saw two guys dressed in black carrying backpacks,” Audra Guikema said.
Her husband, Tim Guikema, who is a former police officer, said he ran out to the garage to grab a bat before heading into the backyard. But before he got the chance to see what was happening behind his home, he noticed his car door was open. “I saw him inside my car and I dropped my phone and grabbed him and we kind of tumbled through this area [the garage] and then ended out in my driveway,” Tim said.
That’s when Audra heard her husband and Veltman fighting. “He starts screaming at me, ‘Call 911,’ Audra said. “They were fighting all over the place.”
Audra then ran to a neighbor’s house for help. “I don’t know if the guy has a gun, I don’t know if he has a knife, all I could see was all the slamming around here in the garage.”
Tim was able to hold Veltman until Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputies arrived.
According to the sheriff’s department, Veltman had a blood alcohol level of .13 at the time of the incident. He is charged with minor in possession of alcohol and possession of drug paraphernalia in addition to the home invasion charge.
Guikema said he sleeps with a gun near his nightstand and that he’s happy he didn’t have to use it.
The couple has lived at their home for nine years, and they now plan to install a security system, they said.
“I’ve got three kids downstairs sleeping in the basement,” Guikema said. “I don’t need anything like this again.”
