Since Oct. 31, four high-end homes in Novi have been targeted by thieves who law enforcement believes are part of the South American transnational gangs.

A map shows the targeted neighborhoods, stretching from Haggerty to Napier.

On Oct. 31 between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., unknown suspects broke the window of a rear door of a residence in the 40000 block of Revello Court, near Beck and Eight Mile Roads. The residents were not home at the time. On Nov. 2, between 6 p.m. and 8:55 p.m., unknown suspects broke the window of a rear door in the 40000 block of Vento Drive, near Garfield and Eight Mile Roads. The residents were not home at the time. On Nov. 15, at 5:46 p.m., unknown suspects broke the window of the second-story bathroom of a residence in the 20000 block of Pomino Drive, near Garfield and Eight Mile Roads. The residents were not home at the time. On Nov. 15 at 6:58 p.m., unknown suspects broke the window of a rear door in the 20000 block of Turnberry Boulevard, near Haggerty and Eight Mile Roads. The residents were not home at the time.

"These are where our high subdivisions are located, our gated communities are located. The method of entry of all these home invasions is the same," Novi Police Department Cmdr. Jason Meier said.

Meier says all four homes are either backed to a wooded area or a large field where the thieves accessed the location. They jammed Wi-Fi signals, restricting security protocols and broke in through a glass door.

"This is consistent with the South American transnational groups that have been operating in the area since January. The method of entry is the same, the items being stolen is the same, the very few images that we have do tend to show that as well," said Commander Meier.

A screen grab shows the most recent hit on Nov. 15 in the Turnberry Boulevard area at 6:58 p.m. Three unknown suspects broke into and entered the home while the residents were not home at the time.

I asked Meier how the suspects know valuables are inside.

"We have no evidence that they know what's in the homes before they go in. Now, that's not to say that they don't," Meier said.

However, law enforcement says these criminals deploy heavy surveillance, allowing them to learn details about the location. As for the loot, they typically go for cash, jewelry, high-end purses and watches.

Catherine Johnston lives alone in a high-end home in Bloomfield Township. For her safety, we are not disclosing the area, but Johnston is concerned because her home backs up to woods and a golf course.

"I have a lot of windows in my home and I've thought more often about pulling the shades, which I never did before," Johnston said.

From constantly locking her back door to installing motion-activated cameras, Johnston is doing more to protect her home.

Only a few months ago, a high-end home near Johnston was targeted.

"I did not know them. They are a couple of streets over. But I believe they were out of town for a couple of days and the thieves came in the middle of the night. And from what I've been told, the neighbors heard nothing," Johnston said.

Meanwhile, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says since Oct. 15, the county has had seven more incidents, including four in Novi, two in Bloomfield Township and one in Bloomfield Hills.

"The last intelligence report I saw, there are about 150 teams traveling the country hitting homes," Bouchard said.

Bouchard also says the stolen goods are being shipped to Miami, Los Angeles or New York.

"The biggest challenge is that they are very tangent, so they will hammer an area for a while, they have no ties to the community and then they move on," Bouchard said.

Now once again, law enforcement says it's homes that back up to wooded areas or golf courses that get targeted the most, but there are a couple of things homeowners can do to protect themselves better.

One is always to stay vigilant. Report anything suspicious, beef up security, add more wired cameras and, if possible, add external lights for dark yards because that's what thieves use as cover.

The Patriots community is puzzled as to why a well-respected wrestling coach who has been with the Livonia Public Schools district for 24 years was suddenly fired.

Update from Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6:45 a.m.: Parents and community members of Franklin High School called for answers at last night's school board meeting on why the district suddenly fired Patriots wrestling coach David Chiola.

Livonia community questions firing of respected Franklin High School wrestling coach

"Why'd the gentlemen get fired then," said one upset community member. "Give the guy his job back."

The Livonia School district notified Franklin's Wrestling Community of the termination in a letter on November 1. In it, there's no solid reason for the firing, with the school only saying the now former coach's values don't align with the district's vision.

The now-former coach telling the school board why he thinks he was fired.

"A letter went home to the parents questioning my character," said David Chiola. "The oversight I made was I answered a phone call from the Athletic Director while subbing at Stevenson. Some students thought whatever I said must have been too mean spirited and went to the Assistant Principal who went to central office."

The student at the center of the call is transgender. The school and Chiola both confirmed the student's locker room accommodations were not the topic discussed in that phone call. The district also said in a statement that the conversation ad nothing to do with Chiola's termination.

The school board meeting erupted with chaos with the next speaker. We're not going to say what the accusations are, because they're unfounded. But the enraged gallery caused a 20-minute recess.

The following speakers, including Chiola's daughter, scolding the board for letting the speaking continue.

"Your specificly said any complaints need to be brought before HR this was asinine," said one community member. "That should have been shut down from the beginning. Im still worked up about that."

"This is a public hearin- board meeting so anybody can hear that and rumors are going to spread and you could have stopped that and you decided not to,"

We'll continue to follow this story as it develops.

Monday, Nov. 18: The firing is happening as wrestlers prepare to compete on the mats this season.

For students like Miles Kwiatkowski, hearing of the firing of Coach Dave Chiola was devastating.

"Just know that I don't get to finish off my senior year with Coach Chiola," Kwiatkowski said.

The 17-year-old has been training under Chiola for three seasons.

"He is an amazing coach. He has done so much for the program," Kwiatkowski said.

Under Chiola, the Patriots have a total of 400 wins, including 18 of the past 19 city championships and 17 district titles.

"It just feels wrong. He didn't do anything. There are no complaints from the parents, no complaints from other students," Kwiatkowski said.

However, according to an email sent on Nov. 1 to the school's wrestling community, the coach was fired. Kwiatkowski's mom Angela says the email made her angry while reading the most upsetting part.

"They say: 'Coach Chiola continued to fall short of his own accountability and our expectations as a trusted adult for all students. Before a leader can hold others accountable for their actions, leaders need to be able to model this behavior each and every day.' And I feel like that's a judgment on his character," Angela Kwiatkowski said.

The letter also reads: "Multiple opportunities were provided to Coach Chiola to learn and grow from past actions, but those expectations were not met."

"And what is he supposed to be accountable for? What are your expectations? After 24 years, did your expectations change?" Angela Kwiatkowski said.

You can read the full letter that was sent to families below:

Chiola was informed that he would no longer be part of the team just over a week before the season started.

"We're separating ways is how it was worded," Chiola said.

Chiola explained to us what happened from his point of view.

"Since I'm not teaching the district, I'm subbing now. I was subbing at a rival school and I got a phone call from athletic director and he was talking about a wrestler who was joining the team and some concerns. And in my blunt way, I was just saying well, I don't know what you're worried about. He may quit because it's really hard. We had 69 kids on the team last year and at this point, we ended with 39. I said he missed a lot of practice, as he misses practice like that kick-off anyway, and some students overheard me and thought I was being mean," Chiola said.

Chiola says the conversation was about a student-athlete who is transgender. But that, as the district says, had nothing to do with the use of a locker room and that he said nothing derogatory.

Meanwhile, in a statement to 7 News Detroit, a Livonia Public Schools spokesperson wrote in part:

"Social media commentary has painted an inaccurate and misinformed depiction of the situation. Accusations suggesting that the termination decision was premised, in any way, on the handling of supports for a transgender student-athlete have been spread without any basis in fact."

We asked Chiola if he's previously coached students who identified as LGBTQ+.

"Yeah, I've had several gay kids on my team. One of them was really good," Chiola said.

The school also denies that "the call" had anything to do with the coach's termination.

Monday night, Chiola and the wrestling community will be putting up a fight at the board meeting asking the school to apologize to the coach.

27-year-old Mikayla Frick is the proud owner of Frick'n Good Cookies.

"Our cookies are thick, soft, dense cookie. We also use no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup, Mikayla said.

But her relationship with cookies goes beyond the family name.

"Everybody in my elementary, middle, high school knows my family as the cookie family, because my grandma would bring these chocolate chip cookies in these giant gallons bags, hand them out at volleyball games, soccer games, Mikayla said.

Yes, the cookies are all thanks to Grandma Sue's original recipe.

"Long story short, I went to Michigan State, graduated right before the pandemic, and I couldn't get hired as a new grad. I started to make these cookies at home and started selling them on Facebook. One thing led to another, and here we are selling at all these events, Mikayla said.

From a temporary gig to a thriving business, the small business owner says there were a few crumby moments.

"We used to rent out a bakery in Saint Clair Shores," Mikayla said. "We would have to go in after their hours so we would start baking at 9 o'clock at night. We'd be baking until 2 AM. That was really difficult, especially being that we couldn't store stuff there. It was really hard so being here is a huge milestone."

Mikayla moved to this dedicated space two years ago, but with another sticky situation.

"We have been in an ongoing trademark lawsuit fight for the name Frick. We've been fighting this for quite some time now, pushing on a year and a half, and it's difficult. Obviously, you have attorney fees. It weighs mentally on you, Mikayla said.

"If things don't work out and you have to change the name, will that devastate you? I asked.

"Yes, my last name is Frick, and everywhere at events on the weekend, and yeah, it's really who we are, Mikayla said.

And thanks to the community's support, Mikayla's motto is keep calm and bake on.

"This is all I've ever done, and we continue to grow, even through the hard times, and I'm excited, to see the future of this company, Mikayla said.

That's why this smart cookie has launched three new flavors this holiday season.

"This is our hot coco cookie. This is the new seasonal cookie," Mikayla said. "This is the cookie you've been waiting for. This is the pumpkin pecan pie cookie, and then we also have the apple butterscotch cookie, which comes in our Thanksgiving platter, so if you order that online, we have that as well."

To learn more about Frickn Good Cookies, head to this link.