According to The Detroit News, walled Lake police have charged three people with ethnic intimidation after breaking into the home of a Black family in Michigan. The home invasion occurred on April 26.
Twenty-six-year-old Maci Kathleen-Grant Pietryga, Michael Ray Graves, 47 and Branden Odegaard, 37, were all charged with ethnic intimidation after they broke into the home of a Black family and threatened to kill them. Ethnic intimidation is a felony in Michigan and could get the trio up to 2 years in prison and a $5000 fine.
Graves and Odegaard were also charged with first-degree home invasion, which is also a felony. Pietryga was charged with aiding and abetting a home invasion. All three face up to 20 years in jail for the home invasion. They could also face civil charges under Michigan law.
Two children can be seen on video hiding underneath their beds as the assailants tried to break down their door and broke windows in the home. One of the Wonderbread trio members also used racial slurs during the break-in, including the N-word. Walled Lake police apprehended the assailants nearby after 911 was called.
The mother was home and fired a shot at the assailants but missed. She was on the phone with her husband during the break-in. He spoke to WDIV News about the incident.
“Well, I get the phone call, and I can hear everything on the phone. I can hear them banging it and kicking in the the door, or banging it down or whatever they were doing. Ya, know, I heard the bangs and all that. Then I heard the guy saying, ya know. I’m going to kill you.’ The n-word and all that,” he said.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald condemned the hate crime.
“I want to be very clear that I have zero tolerance for hate crimes. Hate has no place here in Oakland County, and I will do everything in my power to hold those who attempt to threaten or harm our residents accountable.”
Pietryga is being held on a $350,000 bond at the Oakland County Jail. Graves and Odegaard are both being held on $500,000 bonds. All three pled not guilty.
Walled Lake is a small city located in Oakland County, Michigan. It’s about 20 miles northwest of Detroit. With a population of roughly 7,200 people, 80% of the residents are white.
