DETROIT – Detroit police say an 89-year-old great-grandmother was the target of a home invasion and robbery Monday afternoon on the city's west side.
The victim asked to be kept anonymous, but wanted to share her story with Local 4 as a warning for others.
The great-grandmother to eight said it was around 2 p.m. when she saw a man walking in front of her home on Woodmont Avenue.
"I peeked out the blinds and saw him on my front porch," she said. "He told me he had some of my mail."
She had only opened the door slightly before the man pushed his way through, knocking her back into a reclining chair.
"He roughed me up a little bit, grabbed my arm, then grabbed a pillow and put it over my face. I thought he was going to choke me," the victim said. But she managed to break free.
"I'm just grateful that all he did was hurt my hand," she said.
While the man was in another room, the victim said she grabbed her Life Alert device and called for help. The man eventually left, but stole her TV on his way out.
"My kids always tell me never to open the door for someone I don't know, and my conscious told me not to, but I did anyway because I thought he had my letter," the victim said.
Detroit police Sgt. Michael Woody said the victim was able to give investigators a clear description of the thief, and an arrest was made - in the same neighborhood- within hours of the crime.
Woody also investigators also recovered the victim's TV.
No other details on the suspect were immediately released.