DEARBORN — A Dearborn Heights man was arrested Monday and arraigned Wednesday in 19th District Court on multiple charges related to the home invasion/rape of a West Dearborn mother on Sept. 5. Kenneth Gunther, 26, is also suspected of a second rape of a mother in Dearborn Heights that occurred Oct. 19, police said.

Kenneth Gunther

In both incidences, the suspect entered the homes and sexually assaulted the women while a young child was in the house, according to police. The two rapes left residents unsettled for weeks, leading to community meetings with police attended by hundreds. Gunther is on parole from state prison for a previous breaking and entering conviction. Police arrested Gunther Monday after officers identified a man acting suspiciously in a tan 1996 Pontiac while conducting undercover surveillance in the area of the crimes near Michigan Avenue and Van Born Road. They said he reached for a shotgun when officers stopped the car near Ford Road and Mercury Drive, but that he was subdued without injury, and that they later found physical evidence inside his home related to the assaults. Gunther is being held in Wayne County Jail in lieu of $1.6 million bond. At the arraignment Wednesday, Gunther reacted angrily to several news cameras in the courtroom, cursing and making offensive hand gestures. “If I was innocent, I’m guilty now,” he said. “You’re saying I’m guilty with these cameras.”Judge Mark Somers eventually had Gunther removed from the room when he would not quiet down. Gunther was charged with sexual assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, home invasion, unlawful imprisonment, larceny and three firearms counts. A preliminary examination is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.