GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The Grand Rapids man accused of breaking into multiple Ottawa County homes and assaulting residents while naked was charged in Grand Haven District Court Thursday.
Joshua Louis Rupp, 35, was charged with two counts of first-degree home invasion, one count of felonious assault and one count of resisting and obstructing police. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Investigators say Rupp, while nude, broke into two Polkton Township homes Wednesday morning, July 31.
In the first home, he swung at and a struck a man in the garage during an altercation, Detective David DeWitt of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said.
Rupp then broke into a second home, where he grabbed an elderly woman while making “sexual faces,” DeWitt said. The woman’s husband, who asked not to be identified, said she hit the suspect with a pop can to fight him off.
“He had a wild look in his eyes,” said the victim’s husband. “I don’t want to know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there.”
Investigators say Rupp took off in his vehicle after the break-ins. He jerked his wheel towards the center of the lane, and sideswiped a truck carrying a mother and her three children, DeWitt said.
After not complying with commands, Rupp was tased and arrested by deputies in Wright Township outside a wooded area, he said.
Judge Craig Bunce set Rupp’s bond at $250,000 cash/surety. He will appear in court for a probable cause conference next week.
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