By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

FERNDALE — On June 23, Ferndale police identified a suspect in the burglary of Mayor Craig Covey’s home as a man who has been charged with murder in Hamtramck.

According to Detective Lt. Bill Wilson, police are seeking a warrant for Damion Butler, 23, of Detroit in the April 17 incident in which a thief entered Covey’s home on West Breckenridge Street while Covey was asleep in bed and stole his television, cell phone, jewelry and keys before taking off in his 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid and totaling it.

“His fingerprint was recovered from the mayor’s house with no legitimate explanation,” Wilson said. “We still have no idea why he targeted that particular house. This is a very unusual case. We still don’t have all the details, but we have some DNA evidence we’re waiting for that could help shed some light on things.”

The print was pulled from Covey’s jewelry box, and police sent it to the FBI’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System, where Butler was found as a match. Even before learning of the murder charges against him, Wilson said, police knew that they were dealing with a very dangerous criminal.

“Anyone who has the audacity to break into an occupied home and rob the place — you have to assume that they’re also willing to harm the individuals inside,” he said. “It’s a major concern for the safety of the occupants.”

According to Hamtramck Police Detective Jackie Crachiola, Butler was arraigned on June 20 on charges of first-degree murder and felony firearm for the killing of 28-year-old Anthony Moxley of Hamtrack one year ago. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

“On June 1, 2008, Damion Butler came to Hamtramck to visit a friend (Moxley),” she explained. “They got in an argument, and (Butler) shot him multiple times and killed him.”

Butler is currently being held in Wayne County Jail and will face a preliminary exam on July 2 at the 31st District Court in Hamtramck.

“We’ve been chasing him for over a year since this murder took place,” Crachiola said. “We believe that he is a career criminal judging by his long criminal history.”

According to the Michigan Offender Tracking Information System, Butler is a parole absconder who had previously served time in prison for receiving and concealing stolen property in February 2006 and unlawful driving away of an automobile in December 2005.

For Covey, there was a sense of relief that a suspect had been discovered in an event that he said had thrown his life into turmoil and led to weeks of stress and anxiety for himself and his family, friends and neighbors.

“At first I actually felt guilty for not waking up that night, but now I think it was a blessing in disguise,” he said. “The police told me that if I had woken up, I might not be around to talk about it today. This was a very scary, dangerous person in my house — it’s chilling just to think about it.”

In a press release sent out on June 22, Covey was unapologetically blunt regarding his preferred punishment for Butler should he be convicted.

“I’m so glad this nasty villain is in jail,” he wrote, “and I hope they throw away the key. … If this guy is convicted of murder as well as home invasion, then my only regret is that Michigan does not have the death penalty. I would gladly volunteer to throw the switch myself.”

In an interview the following day, Covey stood by his statements. “Home invasion is a very serious crime, but it pales in comparison to what this guy did in Hamtramck. I absolutely believe that capital punishment should be an option in our state. For cold-blooded killers like this, I believe that capital punishment is justice.”

Police Chief Mike Kitchen said that the primary question still remaining in the case is why Butler chose to rob the mayor’s house — which had accidentally been left unlocked the night of the burglary — out of all the homes in the city.

“We still don’t know the link that put him in Covey’s house that night,” Kitchen said, “but it’s a really scary thought that this possible murderer was in the mayor’s home. That will be the interesting piece of the puzzle. It could be totally random, but we don’t know yet. It will probably be a considerable length of time before there’s any closure to this.”

Butler’s motives are a mystery to Covey, as well. He indicated that since learning of the suspect’s identity, he has wracked his brain to establish some sort of connection, but to no avail.

“I’ve checked with everyone I know, and no one knows him or recognizes him,” he said.

And, Wilson said, Butler was not helpful in providing any additional clues during a June 22 interrogation by Ferndale police conducted in Hamtramck.

“Our interview with him was pretty fruitless,” Wilson said. “He’s not cooperating with us at all. We’re trying to see if he had any kind of accomplice, but he’s not talking.”

It’s certainly not over yet, not for the police nor for the victim. After the burglary, Covey changed the locks on all his doors and installed all-new lights with motion detectors outside his house. He said the incident has forced him to think more actively about his own safety and security, as well as that of his loved ones and the residents of Ferndale.

“Something like this really makes you realize how fragile life is,” he said. “You’re only a few steps away from the end when someone like Damion Butler is next to you. … What bothers me most is that there are some pretty evil characters out there, and every once in a while an innocent person is going to get taken advantage of. Ferndale police has more officers per capita than any of the other suburbs, and you just hope that’s enough to deter criminals from our city.”