ORION TWP., Mich. (WXYZ) — A woman in her 40s was shot and carjacked in broad daylight Tuesday outside a shopping plaza near Baldwin and I-75 in Orion Township, and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is speaking out about the suspect's criminal history — saying he never should have been free.
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Bouchard provided an update Wednesday, expressing frustration that the suspect was out on the streets. He pointed to a 2024 case out of Ypsilanti in which he says the same suspect was convicted of assault with intent to do great bodily harm but received only two years of probation.
"He's currently on probation for hog-tying a woman, duct-taping her, and suffocating her with a plastic bag over her head, and he's back out on the streets, saying no harm, no foul? Is that how the justice system works?" Bouchard said.
The sheriff says the suspect was still on probation when the most recent attack occurred.
"He needs to be behind bars," Bouchard said.
The suspect, who is 25 years old, has not yet been named because he has not been charged. He is not cooperating with investigators.
We reached out to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office regarding the 2024 case and provided the following response:
Our thoughts are with the victim of the horrific crime in Orion Township. We are grateful to law enforcement for their quick response and expect that the suspect will be held fully accountable.
As to the 2024 case handled by our office, the suspect pleaded guilty as charged to one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and one count of assault and battery. At the time, he had no prior adult or juvenile record. No reduction in charges were given as part of his plea.
His sentence of probation in that case was consistent with Michigan's sentencing guidelines--which serve as a guide for courts to determine what an appropriate sentence would be in a felony case. In other words, the sentence he received was what he likely would have received even had he been found guilty at trial.
Shoppers and workers in the area say the suspect was acting suspiciously before the shooting, watching and waiting just outside the Panera Bread in the plaza.
Glen Venner was shopping at the time of the incident.
"I noticed him before I got out of the vehicle because he was all hooded up, it was so hot out, and he was in a fully dressed hoodie, he had a mask on, glasses," Venner said.
Riley Kelly, who works nearby, said the suspect walked into her store and asked for a plastic bag before leaving.
"He had his hand in his pant pocket the whole time, which is the only reason I really remembered it," Kelly said. "He left and went towards Panera, and he was kind of just looking every which way, any way you could think of, he looked back at me at least four times to see if I was still watching him, and I kind of just had that gut feeling that something wasn't right."
Kelly called 911 after she noticed the woman on the ground, covered in blood. As families and shoppers tried to help the victim and her son, the suspect fled in her vehicle before being apprehended.
"It's definitely been a lot, it's been a lot of anxiety," Kelly said.
WEB EXTRA: Riley Kelly describes the suspect's behavior
The sheriff says investigators are hoping to submit all evidence to the prosecutor's office Thursday. The victim lost a significant amount of blood but is awake, alert, and recovering.
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