Detroit Man Arrested in Woods, City Business Break-Ins

A 40-year-old Detroit man will face several felony charges in at least four Grosse Pointe business burglaries, two of which were committed within minutes of each other on Mack Avenue in January. 

Kory Kordell Smith is to be arraigned in Grosse Pointe Woods in a few days on charges related to the December smash and grab at , 21150 Mack Ave. Police said he broke the window of the front door and stole cash from the register. 

Detective Christopher Lee is filing for charges Tuesday against Smith for three break-ins, one on Kercheval Avenue in the Village and two others on Mack Avenue. 

In addition to the break-ins in the Pointes, Smith is being held in St. Clair Shores for a series of business break-ins there. 

Lee said the motivation for the crimes was drugs. Police said Smith told them he smashed glass out of the businesses' storefronts to break in and then stole only cash, in some cases leaving other valuables behind. 

In early January, was broken into. Then on Jan. 14, was broken into by smashing the front door. Minutes earlier, the office of a podiatrist was broken into with a backward kick to a door, police said. 

Smith turned himself into Detroit Police on Sunday, who then turned him over to St. Clair Shores police because of several outstanding warrants.

"With the assistance of his mother, girlfriend, parole officer and the Detroit Police Department Violent Crimes Taskforce, he was talked into surrendering himself," said St. Clair Shores police Det. Jim Wagner. "He understood his rights and accepted responsibility for what he has done."

Meanwhile, Grosse Pointe Woods officers had obtained confirmation of Smith's identity through fingerprints taken at Josef's, where they also had video of him committing the crime, Woods Director Andrew Pazuchowski said.

Lee interviewed Smith early Tuesday, at which time he admitted responsibility for the break-ins, Lee said. City police still have one unsolved break-in, which was at T-Mobile in the Village. The burglar broke the glass to the front window in the middle of the night, setting off a loud alarm, likely not even giving the criminal time to enter, police said.

Detectives believed this case was committed by a different person even before Tuesday's interview, Lee said. 

Smith will be charged with breaking and entering a building, larceny of a building and habitual offender in the Woods. The City intends to charge him with three counts of breaking and entering, Lee said. 

He was arraigned on multiple charges in St. Clair Shores on Tuesday, and is also wanted in Birmingham. 

Pazuchowski said Smith has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s that includes crimes such as arson, robbery and burglary. Most recently he was wanted for harming his parole officer, causing injury, Pazuchowski said. 

According to the Department of Corrections web site, Smith is listed as a current absconder from parole. Smith most recently served a one-year-11-months to 10-year prison term for breaking and entering in Macomb County. He was sentenced in that case in June 2008.