Home invader told Eminem he was 'there to kill him', officer testifies.

Eminem awoke at home April 5 to discover a man standing behind him, a Clinton Township police officer testified Wednesday.

The rapper born Marshall Mathers initially thought it was his nephew, but it turned out to be a stranger later identified as Matthew David Hughes, said officer Adam Hackstock.

“When Mr. Mathers asked him why he was there, he was told by Mr. Hughes that he was there to kill him,” Hackstock said on the stand during a preliminary examination in Macomb County District Court.

Hughes has been in custody since the incident, charged with first-degree home invasion and malicious destruction of property. He appeared in court Wednesday in shackles and a prison jumpsuit, having regrown a beard since his prior court appearance in June.

Eminem was not in court Wednesday, but his attorney watched the proceedings via video.

Judge Jacob Femminineo Jr. found there is probable cause to move forward with a trial, and scheduled a Sept. 28 arraignment in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Hackstock testified he arrived that night at Eminem’s house in a gated Clinton Township community to find a security guard wrestling with Hughes on the ground. Hughes muttered “friend,” and said he lived in the area, Hackstock said.

The officer said he spoke with the rapper for more than an hour after Hughes was detained.

Eminem said he escorted the home invader through a TV area, game room and basketball court to an exit out of the house, Hackstock testified. Hughes did not have a weapon, he said.

A reddish colored brick was found inside a busted window on the home’s west side, he said. Clinton Township Det. Dan Quinn testified that multiple angles of security footage showed Hughes on the premises for “quite some time” before he climbed through the busted window.

Hughes is being held on a $50,000 cash bond. The judge denied a request by Hughes’ attorney, Richard Glanda, to reduce the bond, saying the victim’s fame was irrelevant to his decision.

Prosecutor Paul Bukowski told the court that Hughes is apparently homeless.

Glanda, appointed by the court, initially sought a competency evaluation for his client, who turned it down.

“In my opinion, I think there’s some sort of mental issues involved here,” Glanda said, outside the courtroom Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Home invader told Eminem he was there to kill him, officer says