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Charles J. Silver was arraigned on four counts of home invasion second degree in Sanilac District Court on Oct. 31. Troopers from the Sandusky State Police Post arrested him earlier that day as he left his parole officer's office in Port Huron.

The series of B & Es began on July 30 - when a Delaware Township home owner reported a break, in and continued into the middle of September.

According to State Police Detective Brian Ferguson, officers began to notice similarities in their cases.

For one thing, Silver was targeting secluded homes on gravel roads and all of the break ins happened during the day while the home owners were gone. In addition, Ferguson stated witnesses were able to describe a suspect vehicle, but were unable to get a license plate number. In the mean time the officers were seizing evidence, following leads and sharing information with neighboring police departments.

"This was a fine example of a competent and cooperative law enforcement effort. Troopers conducted excellent scene investigations, meticulously gathering evidence available to them. Officers throughout this and neighboring counties played absolutely integral roles in the investigation as well," stated Ferguson.

Ferguson credits Croswell Police Chief Dave Hall and Sanilac County Sgt. Paul Rich with pointing the first fingers at Silver. He said the officers remembered similar break ins during the spring and summer of 2000, which ended with Silver's arrest. Sheriff Department Detectives Jim Johnson and Mark Ruggles helped gather information and investigated the likelyhood that Silver was involved in this summer's break ins.

Other departments that assisted with the continuing investigation include the: Sanilac County Drug Task Force, Huron County Sheriff Department, St. Clair County Sheriff Department, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the Michigan Department of Corrections.