Confessed Burglar Waives Exam in Grosse Pointe Farms

The waived his preliminary exam Wednesday afternoon in court.

Rudy J. Vandenbroeck is charged with four counts of home invasion and larcency from a building. He appeared in Grosse Pointe Farms court Wednesday briefly to waive his preliminary exam--a hearing in which a judge decides whether the police have sufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution.

After being arrested at his home in Eastpointe May 25, Vandenbroeck admitted to breaking into four homes in the Farms, one home in the and one home in St. Clair Shores.

Leading up to his arrest however, there were at least nine daytime burglaries in the City and the Farms. Farms Public Safety Director Dan Jensen said Wednesday Vandenbroeck admitted to four of the six within his city and adamently denies being involved in the other two-- and .

Jensen said no other burglaries have happened since Vandenbroeck's arrest but detectives are still actively investigating the remaining crimes. It is unclear at this point if Vandenbroeck knows others who may be responsible or if both worked independently.

Residents are urged to continue being vigilant about knowing who belongs in the neighborhood and who doesn't and calling police if there anything suspicious.

In addition to the cases in the Farms, Vandenbroeck was served with legal documents Wednesday by the City of Grosse Pointe requiring his appearance for an arraignment Thursday in their court, City Detective Alan Gwyn said. Vandenbroeck admitted to breaking into a home on but denied being involved in two others-- near Beaumont Hospital and one on Village Lane.

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He will make his next court appearace in Wayne County Third Circuit Court in Detroit June 13.

Although detectives were trying to retrieve some of the stolen goods, little has been recovered, Jensen said. Vandenbroeck was stealing the items, taking them to a pawn shop immediately and then going to a drug house to buy crack, Jensen said.

The stolen belongings were able to help fuel his $1,000 per day crack habit for five to seven days, Jensen said, explaining that was Vandenbroeck's description. During his arrest, officers found crack and a few of the stolen items but the others are unlikely to ever be recovered, Jensen said.