An Absecon man was convicted on 15 counts in a violent 2020 Buena Borough home invasion.
The victim was forced inside his home at gunpoint by two men and duct taped before being grazed by a bullet as he escaped his captors during the Sept. 15, 2020 incident.
The victim made it to a neighbor's home, where he called 911.
A fingerprint on the discarded duct tape led to Michael Hayes. His co-conspirator has not been charged.
Hayes was indicted in August 2021.
A jury convicted Hayes, now 46, on more than two dozen counts, including first-degree charges of robbery and possession of a handgun by a person with a prior conviction.
Hayes served more than a decade in prison on a previous robbery. He had been out about 16 months when he committed the home invasion.
He and his co-conspirator planned the crime for week, according to evidence presented by Assistant Prosecutor Deirdre Laws during the two-week trial.
The men were masked when they stopped the man as he left for work at 6:30 that morning, duct-taping him and forcing him back into his home at gunpoint.
They threatened to shoot him in the head and robbed him of about $1,000 in cash and a necklace.
While Hayes held him at gunpoint, the accomplice pointed a gun at the victim's father and told him and his wife to stay quiet, according to the evidence.
When the victim broke free and ran down the stairs, Hayes told his accomplice to shoot.
The shot grazed the victim's head. He was able to make it across the street to call police.
This case was investigated by the Franklin Township Police Department with assistance from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and the Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department Forensic Sciences Laboratory.
Hays will remain jailed as he awaiting sentencing scheduled for July 18.
