TRAVERSE CITY -- An allegedly drunken man who entered a Traverse City home in the middle of the night found himself at gunpoint.
Aaron TwoCrow, 24, of Suttons Bay, allegedly entered a home on the 800 block of Fern Street at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday, police said. A female homeowner was up rocking her 15-month-old child in the living room when she heard her kitchen door open and saw a stranger in the home.
"She's just sitting there in the dead of night ... and this guy comes in and scares the crap out of her," Traverse City Police Capt. Steve Morgan said.
The woman ran into her bedroom and told her sleeping husband, who retrieved a handgun and confronted TwoCrow. He ran from the house and was arrested without incident as he walked along nearby Hannah Avenue.
TwoCrow allegedly was intoxicated, Morgan said.
Police said TwoCrow has no known past or present connection to the residence, and gave no indication why he decided to go inside.
Such incidents happen occasionally in the city, police said. Homeowners are startled, though it's the intruders who often face the highest risk.
"That's a dangerous situation ... with an armed homeowner," Morgan said. "(Homeowners) don't know what these people's intent is, and you can only assume the worst when someone is coming into your house."
TwoCrow allegedly entered through an unlocked door, as did two intoxicated men who entered Traverse City residences in similar incidents in June. Intoxicated individuals who wander around town late at night "do things that are unexpected and often illegal," Morgan said, and residents are encouraged to lock up before they go to bed.
"The main thing is to keep your door locked," he said. "That would prevent a lot of this stuff from happening."
TwoCrow was charged with misdemeanor illegal entry, Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider said.
Print this story
E-mail this story
