WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A simple Google search will show you what 26-year-old Tobias Catron has been up to since his late teens and none of it is good.
"Mr. Catron is an absolute risk to society. His criminal history tells us that but he'll tell you that as well," said Wyandotte Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton.
"He bragged to our officers that he has stabbed people. He has shot people. And he boasted about never getting convicted because he will intimidate witnesses," said Hamilton.
And last Friday around 3:20 AM, a Wyandotte Police officer spotted a suspicious vehicle in a neighborhood. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver took off at a high rate of speed.
Other officers joined the pursuit that ended in a crash in downtown Detroit.
"What the officer did not know at the time is Mr. Catron was just released from prison on parole. He was driving a stolen vehicle and has this long, long history of violence," Hamilton said.
Court records show Catron has a lengthy history of arrest for alleged crimes that include attempted murder, armed robbery, resisting/obstructing police, as well as fleeing and eluding.
Some of his cases appear to involve plea deals, probation, and dismissals.
Catron eventually did go to prison for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and he was paroled on September 27, 2022.
On Sunday, Catron was charged with Fleeing a Police Officer, a felony. And what stunned Wyandotte Police was that he was granted a personal bond by 36th District Court Magistrate Rodney Johnson who was handling Wayne County's weekend docket.
"He's on parole. He was just released from prison. And despite all of those circumstances, he was allowed to walk free on a personal bond by magistrate Johnson," Hamilton said.
7 Action News has made multiple attempts to contact Magistrate Johnson, but, so far, he's not responded to our messages.
"He (Catron) also brags about running from the police because he knows, and all of his criminal friends know, that if they run from the police, there will be no consequences, even if captured," said Hamilton, who added that it's time lawmakers take a serious look at attaching mandatory penalties to the crime of fleeing from police in a motor vehicle. "The answer is to motivate criminals not to run and the only way we can do that is by enhancing the penalty for fleeing and eluding."
"People are running in vehicles from the police at an alarming rate. We just had another pursuit last night. It's almost a daily event for us," Hamilton said. "Lawmakers need to step up. They're ignoring a huge problem."
