Burglars Lucky House Didn't Catch Fire, Police Say

A woman reported that an unknown suspect or suspects broke into and stole 150 feet of copper wire and a flat screen TV June 6 from a Novi home, according to a Novi police report.

The woman said that her grandmother died in February and her sister inherited the property on the 42000 block of Grand River Avenue, the report said. She said she is preparing the residence for an estate sale, which hasn’t yet been advertised, according to the report. 

Police were at the home earlier in the day because the woman found the handle broken off the back door, the report said. At that time, she didn't know whether anything was missing, according to the report.

When she went inside, she smelled gasoline and called 911, according to the report. The Novi fire department and a Consumer Energy worker arrived and found that several copper wires in the basement were cut, the report said.

Police said the gas line was cut and the suspects are lucky the house didn’t catch on fire, according to the report. Police estimated that 150 feet of copper wire were missing, and the woman said a Hitachi 52” flat screen television was also missing,  the report said.

She said that recently two males were on the property behind the building next to the garage for about 30 minutes, according to the report. They told her they were long time friends of her grandmother, the report said. She asked one of them to spell her grandmother’s last name and he spelled it wrong, according to the report. 

The woman does not know who they were and police do not have any other suspects.

For questions about this crime report, email aysha.jamali@patch.com.