Woman Who Maced Senior Sentenced

A 30-year-old St. Clair Shores woman who admitted to being high when she broke into a neighbor's home and sprayed her with mace, was sentenced Thursday in Macomb Circuit Court.

Kimberly Ritchie had pleaded no contest to home invasion for breaking into the home of the 83-year-old woman in January and spraying her in the face with mace in January.

The victim, who woke to find Ritchie in her bedroom rummaging through her dresser, wrote a letter that was read in court where she recounted the events of the morning.

"She told me to look at her and proceeded to spray my eyes with mace. The pain was intense," the daughter of the victim read to the court. "This incident is more than predatory, it is an abomination. It leaves me afraid in my own neighborhood and in my own home."

Macomb Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski sentenced Ritchie to up to 20 years in prison.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Druzinski said just prior to sentencing. "It was absolutely horrible what you did."

Ritchie, who admitted that she was high on crack, heroin and Xanax when she broke into the house and stole change, apologized.

"I really don't remember exactly what happened. But I do know that what I did was something I would not do sober," said Ritchie.