Grosse Pointe, St. Clair Shores Suspect Admits to Birmingham Break-In

The man who smashed the front door and on Dec. 13 , including and St. Clair Shores.

Kory Kordell Smith, 40, of Detroit, was arraigned in 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores on Tuesday after turning himself in to Detroit Police.

In total, Smith admitted to breaking into seven businesses in Birmingham, Grosse Pointe and St. Clair Shores, police said.

In St. Clair Shores, Smith admitted to breaking into the , and in February. In Grosse Pointe, Smith will be charged with a December smash-and-grab at , as well as January break-ins at and .

“With the assistance of his mother, girlfriend, parole officer and the Detroit Police Department Violent Crimes Taskforce, he was talked into surrendering himself,” St. Clair Shores Police Detective Jim Wagner said. “He understood his rights and accepted responsibility for what he has done.”

During Birmingham's investigation of the Tiffany Florist break-in — specifically the investigation of the cell phone the suspect left behind — officials realized they and St. Clair Shores police were after the same man,  Cmdr. Terry Kiernan said.

When St. Clair Shores police questioned Smith about the break-in at Tiffany Florist, Kiernan said Smith admitted to that incident as well.

Grosse Pointe Detective Christopher Lee said the motivation for the Grosse Pointe break-ins was drugs. Smith told police he smashed glass out of businesses’ storefronts to steal cash, in many cases leaving other valuables behind. Lee did not say what was the motivation for the break-ins in St. Clair Shores or Birmingham.

In Birmingham, was broken into around 11:30 a.m. Dec. 13 while the owner was out. The suspect used a stone statue outside the building to break the glass door.

Kiernan said Birmingham will probably wait until Smith has had a trial in Macomb County before officials here charge him with the Tiffany Florist incident. Kiernan said he couldn't say what that timeline will be.

Smith has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s, including crimes such as arson, robbery and burglary, Grosse Pointe Woods Director of Public Safety Andrew Pazuchowski said. Most recently he was wanted for harming his parole officer, Pazuchowski said.

According to the Department of Corrections website, Smith is listed as an absconder from parole. Smith most recently served a one-year-11-months to 10-year prison term for breaking and entering in Macomb County. He was sentenced in that case in June 2008.

At his arraignment in St. Clair Shores on Tuesday, Smith was charged with three counts of breaking and entering a building with the intent to commit a crime of larceny, and malicious destruction of a building for all three cases. He was also charged with an additional charge of possession of burglary tools.

During his arraignment, a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf and Smith requested a court-appointed attorney for his case. He is being held on $60,000 bond and faces a March 1 preliminary exam.

Grosse Pointe police plan to charge Smith with three counts of breaking and entering.

Sara Eaton Martin of Grosse Pointe Patch and Edward Cardenas of St. Clair Shores Patch contributed to this report.