Independence Township police seek gunman in home invasion, carjacking

Police in Independence Township are warning residents to be on the lookout for an armed man they believe is responsible for holding one homeowner at gunpoint and carjacking another.
A resident living in the 5000 block of Waldon Road near Pine Knob Road called police after arriving home around 10:30 Wednesday morning and interrupting a home invasion in progress. The homeowner, who was ordered to lay flat on the floor, described the suspect as a mustached Hispanic male in his 20s, approximately 5′ 5. The man was wearing a tan jacket and brandished a silver handgun, the victim told police.
When the suspect ran out the front door, the homeowner discovered that his home was ransacked. The suspect drove off in a white SUV.
A short time afterward, deputies received a second call from a homeowner in the 6000 block of Pine Knob Road who indicated he had just been carjacked by a man fitting the same description.
The suspect apparently got the white SUV stuck in mud, then threatened the victim of the carjacking with the silver handgun and drove away eastbound.
He was last seen headed toward Clintonville Road in a dark blue 2000 Chevrolet Silverado extended cab with a short bed, with a Michigan license plate of ‘BTH31?
Deputies from Independence Twp. and surrounding communities are currently searching for the suspect and both crime scenes have been turned over to detectives and the Sheriff’s Forensic Lab.
Police are warning anyone who sees the suspect vehicle not to approach and to call 911 immediately.
Watch clarkstonnews.com for updates as this story develops.