1:48 p.m. Dec. 30, 2009

Detroit man arraigned in fatal shooting of intruder

A magistrate in Detroit's 36th District Court entered a not guilty plea today for Tigh Croff, who is charged with second-degree homicide and felony firearm charges after police say he shot and killed a man he believed was trying to rob his home.

Croff was arraigned by video wearing a security guard’s uniform, a blue shirt with black epaulets and black tie with patches on each arm from the apparent security company.

The magistrate, Steve Lockhart, gave Croff a $40,000 cash bond. Though the homicide charge would normally carry no bond, Lockhart said he would “take note of both an arguable defense claim … or an imperfect self-defense claim.”

Lockhart added the defense also could make a heat of passion argument.

Croff told the judge he earns $8 an hour and lives alone in the home in the 9800 block of Manistique.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 11.

Croff, 31, is accused of shooting Herbert Silas, 53, Monday on the street behind his home.

His home had been broken into three times in the last week. He reportedly found two men in his backyard around 12:30 a.m. and chased them.

One man got away. Silas stopped running, according to police, and taunted Croff asking: “What are you going to do? Shoot me?”

Croff, who has a permit for the gun, shot Silas once in the chest.

Silas was unarmed.

“All of the facts have not been reported,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said today. “We have sound reasons for charging as we did in this case. All of the relevant evidence will be presented in court.”