Mayor of Ferndale's Home Burglarized

FERNDALE, Mich. - There was a break-in recently at the home of Ferndale's mayor, but this was no cat burglar. The thief was also wanted for murder.

Craig Covey, the mayor of Ferndale, always walks with a sense of confidence, but now his stroll is accompanied by a sense of calm.

"April 17th, it was a regular weekday. It was a Friday morning. I woke up. My cat wakes me up every morning because he's hungry, and I noticed the jewelry box was disturbed on my dresser right next to my bed," said Covey. "Went downstairs. Brand new flat screen TV was gone. Side door was wide open and my beautiful, 2008 hybrid Escape was missing from the driveway."

"I knew I'd been burglarized, but it kind of freaked me out. I never had that kind of thing happen when I was at home," said Covey.

While he slept, police say a career criminal slithered his way into the house.

"To know that there's somebody lurking around in the middle of the night... checking on people's doors or their cars or what have you, it's a sickening feeling," said Covey.

Covey quickly called the Ferndale Police Department. "They did a really, really nice job and took some fingerprints and found a fingerprint on the jewelry box," he said.

About three weeks later, Michigan State Police detectives matched the prints to 23-year-old Damien Butler. He has a long list of bad behavior under his belt and he is obviously an opportunist. "Side door might have been unlocked. My car was probably unlocked. There may have been a key in the car," said Covey.

The mayor of Ferndale does not take what happened to him lightly. However, he refuses to live in fear. Although Covey has made some major changes because he was the victim of a crime, and he hopes he is doing his best to make sure it does not happen again.

"I always lock my car now. I always lock the house. I've got new lighting and dead bolts and most people do that, but there's still folks who don't always lock their doors. You shouldn't have to worry all the time about that," Covey said.

FOX 2 is told Butler was arrested by Detroit Police when he was caught in the middle of violent domestic despite, but the hair on the mayor's neck stood up when he heard Butler was also wanted for homicide in Hamtramck.

"Not only did he shoot him once or twice, but he emptied his gun into the man," said Covey. "I want to be there for the sentencing and I want to make a statement. I want to look him in the eyes and tell him what I think of him. You're a nasty character. You have no right to do what you did, and I hope that justice is done."

"I'm a liberal Democrat, but on this particular issue I've always thought that the only way justice can be done is to take his life," Covey said.

Butler is currently back behind bars, and Covey says that is exactly where he belongs.