Matthew Thomas Neubeck, 25, was sentenced Feb. 18 to 3-15 years in prison on four charges of home invasion, second degree.
The charges stemmed from incidents that took place in the area in early January, December, and January 2008.
According to police reports, a Hadley Road resident e-mailed the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in January 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 told police when he needed money for drugs he entered houses and took jewelry and money. Neubeck explained that he went up to houses and knocked on the front door to see if anyone answered; if no one did, he checked to see if the house was unlocked and went in. If the home was locked, he went to another. If the home was unlocked, he took jewelry and change.
Neubeck admitted stealing 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.