An alert homeowner’s suspicions resulted in the arrest of a Brandon Township man in a series of home invasions.
Matthew Thomas Neubeck, 25, was arraigned Jan. 9 at 52-2 District Court on two counts of home invasion, second degree and given a $50,000 personal bond. He was also arraigned on another two counts of home invasion, second degree at 52-3 District Court.
According to police reports, a Hadley Road resident e-mailed the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office recently after observing from his window a man, later identified as Neubeck, pull into his driveway. Neubeck stopped when he saw the homeowner in the window, exited his vehicle, and asked the resident if a ‘Cheryl? lived there. The homeowner replied no one was there by that name and Neubeck named another address he was looking for and left. The homeowner took down Neubeck’s license plate number, then checked and learned the address he’d asked for didn’t exist. He alerted the police to a possible suspicious person and gave them the plate number.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office fugitive team began doing surveillance on Neubeck, who was out on bond after being arraigned on a criminal sexual conduct, first degree charge in July. On Jan. 7, they arrested him and two others in Pontiac after observing Neubeck purchase heroin.
During a subsequent interview, Neubeck stated he has a heroin addiction and has been using for a year. He said that just before he was arrested, he was getting ready to put cotton in the heroin so he could load it into the needle and shoot it, but wasn’t able to because the police were so fast. He uses about four packs a day (.5 grams) and when he needs money for it, he said he enters houses and takes jewelry and money. Neubeck explained that he goes up to houses and knocks on the front door to see if anyone answers and if no one does, he checks to see if the house is unlocked and goes in. If the home is locked, he goes to another. If the home is unlocked, he takes jewelry and change.
OCSO Detective Chris Pacholski was investigating several home invasions in the township and possibly related ones in Independence Township and learned Neubeck had pawned jewelry in Waterford. An Independence Township victim was contacted and confirmed the pawned jewelry was hers.
Neubeck said that jewelry was given to him to pawn, but admitted he had stolen jewelry from two different neighbors of his in the 4200 block of Sherwood Road, including a theft from his next door neighbor on Jan. 6.
He also confessed to going into an unlocked house twice on Coats Road in Oxford, stealing $204 in change a few weeks ago and returning on Jan. 5 and stealing $45 in change.