‘Stick a Fork in Him; He’s Done’: Mother of Suspected Serial Rapist

A Redford Township man suspected in rapes across Metro Detroit dating back to 2011 was arraigned Friday on several felony counts in Garden County District Court as an investigation into other potential cases continues, authorities said.

Ikeie Ranordo Smith, 32, was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree home invasion, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Authorities are investigating rapes in at least eight Metro Detroit communities and are analyzing evidence collected at the scenes to see if they can be linked to Smith.

“No other information regarding potential cases that are currently being investigated or reviewed is being released at this time to prevent any such cases from being compromised,” said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Miller said additional information will be released Monday.

The charges Smith faces now could send him to prison for life. They stem from an alleged Nov. 10, 2015, attack on a Garden City woman who was raped by an intruder while her husband slept in another room.

During Smith’s arraignment, Garden City Detective Sgt. Ray Glenfield described the attack on the Garden City woman, who was sleeping on a mattress in the living room and was repeatedly raped at knife-point, The Detroit News reported.

“She was awoken by an unknown black male who had a black knife,” Glenfield said. “The suspect rolled her over on her back and said he wouldn’t hurt her if she opened up her legs. She complied.”

Glenfield said the woman’s attacker, who had entered the home through an unlocked kitchen window, warned her that he “knew where she lived.” She waited a few minutes and then woke her husband, Glenfield said.

Smith’s mother, Janet Freeman, left the courtroom during the detective’s testimony.

After the proceeding, Freeman said DNA evidence presented by Glenfield links her only child to the attack on the Garden City woman. Dearborn police, who arrested Smith on Wednesday, sent a mouth swab to the Michigan State Lab, which on Thursday confirmed a match with saliva collected in the Garden City attack.

“He did this and it’s inexcusable,” Freeman said, according to the report by The Detroit News. “I’m so angry at him, trust me. But I’m going to support my baby.

“My heart goes out to the victims, most of all. They didn’t deserve this. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. It is what it is. DNA doesn’t lie.”

Acknowledging Glenfield’s reference to “a significant number” of cases in which Smith is a suspect, Freeman said: “Stick a fork in him; he’s done.”

In their announcement of Smith’s arrest on Thursday, Dearborn police said multiple other agencies across Metro Detroit were involved in the investigation, including the Michigan State Police, the FBI, the Livonia Police Department and other neighboring departments.

“The arrest of this suspect will hopefully provide closure to our victims and it is important to note that all members of this Task Force have expended an enormous amount of resources and energy into this investigation,” Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. “This collaborative effort along with citizen cooperation has resulted in a very dangerous predator being taken off the streets.”

Dearborn police said Thursday they would hold a news conference Friday, but the news conference will now be held Monday.

“I appreciate the public’s support and patience while we continue this investigation,” Haddad said Friday. “Investigations of this type are complicated and time consuming and, while it is important to notify the public of current events, it is most important that we do not do anything to compromise the investigation.”

Police said last fall they had begun to see a pattern in crimes across Metro Detroit. In an October news release, authorities said the suspect “enters occupied homes through unsecured first floor access points” and police were “analyzing recovered evidence to develop a suspect.”

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