Manhunt in deadly suburban home invasion spans US after phony utility workers target upscale neighborhood
Police are still looking for one of two men who impersonated a utility worker to gain entrance to a Michigan home on Friday, when a man was murdered and his wife tied up in their house.
One of the suspects, 37-year-old Carlos Jose Hernandez of Dearborn, was tracked down to Louisiana and charged with felony murder in the death of 72-year-old Hussein Murray and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post. The other man was still on the run Monday morning.
"We don't have as much information on him. He was more in the background in the video," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, FOX 2 Detroit reported.
Police released Ring doorbell footage showing Hernandez and the other man wearing yellow florescent vests and masks outside Murray's home in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills. The pair had a bogus work order on a clipboard and fake badges.
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Carlos Jose Hernandez, 37, was charged with felony murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment after he and an accomplice allegedly impersonated utility workers to get into a Michigan home. (Oakland County Sheriff's Office)
"We're DTE, we're checking for gas leaks," Hernandez can be heard saying, claiming to work with a local energy company.
Murray signed the fake work order and led Hernandez and the other man into his basement, Oakland County prosecutors said.
"Shortly thereafter, the defendant and the other male came up and asked the female victim where the money and jewelry were," the prosecutor's office said, NBC News reported. "They duct-taped her wrists and ankles. At one point, she started to scream, and the defendant hit her across the face."
Murray's wife was able to reach a phone and call 911, summoning police to the home. She was briefly hospitalized after her ordeal.
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Carlos Hernandez was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, by the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office on Saturday. (Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office)
Hernandez and the other man allegedly fled the scene with the woman's phone and watch; Murray was found dead in the basement of the home with his wrists and ankles duct-taped.
The pair fled the scene in a white pickup truck with a DTE energy decal. Before successfully gaining access to the home at 10 a.m. Friday, the pair made an earlier attempt at the same time on Thursday, but were turned away.
Police believe they targeted Murray due to prior knowledge of valuables or money they expected inside. The couple own a Detroit-area jewelry and pawn shop, prosecutors said.
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"That's going to be a continuing part of our investigation, what put them on that door for that particular tragic moment," Bouchard told NBC.
Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office deputies in Shreveport, Louisiana, took Hernandez into custody on Saturday after spotting him traveling south on I-49 from Arkansas, the agency said. There is also a warrant for his arrest in Ohio in connection with an alleged armed robbery there, NBC News reported. The U.S. Marshals Service has also been involved in the case.
"This was a gruesome attack on an elderly couple in their home," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. "I have authorized the highest charge which carries a mandatory life without parole sentence for this brutal crime."
The deadly incident took place along Newcastle Drive in Rochester Hills. (Google Maps)
DTE Energy released a statement to warn residents against allowing imposters into their homes, saying the company can be called at 800-477-4747 to check the credentials of any workers.
"If anyone arrives at your home or business saying they are from DTE, please ask to see a badge with photo ID. If the person refuses to show their badge, do not allow them inside," the company said.
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A manhunt was still underway Monday for the accomplice in the Rochester Hills attack.
"One way or another we will find you," the sheriff wrote in the agency's Facebook post.
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