CANNON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Investigators are hoping residents in the Cannon Township area will be able to rest a little easier Wednesday night after a string of home break ins and attempted burglaries over the past week.
Police now have a man in custody for a vehicle that was taken during those break ins. Police are also calling him a person of interestin those home invasions.
32-year-old Corey VanSuilichem is charged with receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle, but not the 11 confirmed home invasions that have been reported in recent days. Police say that's not completely off the table just yet.
"The Kent County Prosecutor's Office issued one count of receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle for Corey VanSuilichem," said Sgt. Joel Roon from the Kent County Sheriff's Department. "He is the person that we referred to as a person of interest in the Bostwick Lake area home invasions and some other activity around the county."
Sgt. Roon says VanSuilichem was caught on surveillance camera getting out of a stolen Cadillac Escalade at an area convenience store.
It's a vehicle that police say was taken during a home invasion on July 15. At this point, VanSuilichem has not been charged in connection to any of the home break-ins reported in Cannon Township.
"There is a significant amount of work that goes into these types of investigations," said Roon. "We're always best served and the victims who are affected are best served if we get it right because you only get one shot at these types of investigations. They're working to establish whether or not he was our suspect who could ultimately be charged for these cases."
Records show this isn't VanSuilichem's first run in with the law. He was behind bars for nearly 10 years on multiple home invasion charges and was currently on probation for maintaining a drug house.
Sgt. Roon says since VanSuilichem was taken into custody there have been no more reports of home break ins around that part of Kent County.
"We haven't had any additional activity since he's been in custody and we haven't identified additional victims," said Roon. "The numbers haven't changed."
While Sgt. Roon says his criminal history can't help connect VanSuilichem with these break ins, it could play a role later on down the line.
"It doesn't go into the charging of this case necessarily," said Roon. "Past prior history can be used in a trial, hypothetically speaking."
While no new break ins have been reported, investigators are still looking into whether just one person was responsible or if multiple suspects are involved.
As for VanSuilichem, he is due back in court in a couple of weeks. If convicted for that vehicle theft, he could get up to five years behind bars.
