Call for fire alarm leads Troy officers to bloody scene, home invasion and arson suspect

Nude man spotted walking around apartment complex, acting strangely

TROY, Mich. – Police officers arrested Troy resident Alexander James Raymond, 31, for home invasion, arson and resisting and obstructing an officer on Saturday after responding to a report of a fire alarm and smoke investigation around 8 a.m. in the 1900 block of Somerset in Troy.

When officers responded to the initial call for a fire alarm they found blood on the apartment deck, including a large bloody kitchen knife, and an open door and screen ripped off.

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A trail of blood led to a nearby apartment building where officers discovered blood and broken glass that led to an open apartment, where the suspect was ultimately located.

Officers were met by a screaming, nude man, covered in blood with a towel wrapped around one of his hands. When officers told the man to exit the apartment, he slammed and locked the door. Officers forced the door to the apartment open, and attempted to handcuff the man. The man resisted and an officer tasered the man one time. The man got up, charged at officers and attempted to escape. Officers deployed a taser again and the man was taken into custody.

Paramedics were called to the scene to treat an injury to the man’s thumb and evaluate him. Due to behavior consistent with “excited delirium,” the man was sedated by paramedics and transported by Alliance Mobile Health to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital.

During the investigation on scene, Troy dispatch received one call about a nude man walking around the area and acting strangely. Officers later learned from witnesses that the man had been walking around the apartment complex grounds with an AR-15 earlier.

Further investigation showed that the suspect earlier broke into an apartment and tried to set a fire by placing flammable items on a stove burner. Officers located a bloody rifle in that apartment. The resident was not home at the time and police believe the man chose the apartment randomly.

Raymond was arraigned on charges of third degree home invasion, fifth degree arson and three counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer.

He was arraigned Sunday at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. His bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety. He was turned over to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for confinement at the Oakland County Jail.

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