Police investigating armed break-in at house with suspected illegal marijuana grow op

State police are investigating an armed break-in at a home with a suspected illegal marijuana grow operation in Royal Oak Township. 

Police were initially called to the home overnight when someone witnessed a person being forced into the house at gunpoint. 

"We are pretty sure that the motive for the break in, is these three individuals knew what was going on in the home and targeted it," said MSP First Lt. Michael Shaw. An alert neighbor helped troopers catch one of the suspects, a 23-year-old man from Detroit.

Police tell us that neighbor got concerned after seeing three men dressed in black try to open a window of a home in the 10700 block of North Oak in Royal Oak Township. A short time later the neighbor saw a suspect force the homeowner into his house at gunpoint and knew there was trouble at what troopers later learned was a possible illegal marijuana grow operation.

"The neighbor getting involved and actually seeing something got the troopers there quickly. Kudos to them for paying attention a lot of crimes are solved just by that way," Shaw said.

Police got the 911 call around 11:15 Tuesday night. Troopers routinely patrol this area so in no time they were on scene, saw a suspect running and had him in custody.

A helicopter overhead and a police dog on the ground helped out in the search for the other two, but at last check they were still on the run.

"At the same time troopers were responding a commercial warehouse alarm went off so we had a permiter around the warehouse until we could search it," Shaw said.

We are told the homeowner suffered minor injuries after being hit in the head with a gun, which was eventually found by investigators.

They also discovered three large buckets of marijuana, a safe containing some cash, the drug ectasy and marijuana oil gel tablets believed to have been chucked by the culprits.

Adding to the complexity of the case, neighbors tell us they suspected a possible illegal grow operation inside the home all along.

"Somebody actually broke into a home with a fiream, that's the first most important part of it. Marijuana is legal in Michigan we have to determine if it was for personal use so theres more to it than when it was blanket illegal," Shaw said.