Apartment maintenance workers rescue woman during attack

WESTLAND - A Westland woman was attacked when an intruder forced his way into her Westland apartment.

Police say she may have been killed if some maintenance workers, who happened to be nearby, didn't intervene.

Both Matt Rowland and Mike Huffman not only came to the woman's rescue, but chased after the suspect and held him until police arrived.

Rowland and Huffman are humble maintenance guys who are now considered heroes at Westwood Village Apartments.

"Not a normal job for a maintenance worker?"

"No," said Huffman. "Normal for anyone who has a good heart."

It started last Thursday afternoon when police say a 64-year-old woman answered her apartment door to a man asking for a ride.

Suspicious of his motives, she shut the door and called the leasing office to report a stranger in the building.

That's when matt and mike sprang into action and ran to her apartment not knowing the suspect had already found a way in, through her door wall.

Police say 21-year-old Shadonn Jenkins of Detroit began punching the woman in the head, biting her in the chest and strangling her until she lost consciousness.

That was when Rowland and Huffman arrived.

"What we witnessed was the suspect coming out saying that a woman had fallen," Rowland said.

With the suspect's hands covered in blood and one look at the victim, Rowland and Huffman knew that wasn't the case.

"When I finally got her to come to, she told me and that's when I turned to Matt," Huffman said.  "And he was already out the door to go after him."

While Huffman tended to the wounded woman, Rowland grabbed his phone and immediately dialed 911. He then hopped in his golf cart and went after the guy.

He didn't know if the suspect was armed - but that didn't stop him from giving chase.

FOX 2: "Did he know you were behind him?"

"I don't think so," Rowland said. "He didn't act like it. He was walking, cool as a cucumber."

Rowland kept his eyes on the guy until Westland police arrived. Officers were able to catch Jenkins in the back of Livonia Churchill High School.

The 21-year-old is now facing a slew of charges including home invasion strangulation and assault with intent to commit murder charges.

As for Rowland and Huffman, they are being praised for their courageous actions.

"It's the way I would react for anyone in that situation," Huffman said.

"That's the sort of thing you hope your neighbors would do for you if you were in that situation," Rowland said. "So no, it didn't feel like a hero thing at all."