DETROIT (WXYZ) — Tobias Catron can't seem to stay out of his own way. The notorious felon from Lincoln Park is only 26 years old and he's racked up a lot of trouble and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Investigators with the Michigan Department of Corrections Absconder Recovery Unit recently had to go on the hunt to find Catron after he cut their GPS tether off his ankle. And, according to Wyandotte Police, it wasn't the only tether Catron decided to cut.
He was also wearing a second tether after a judge allowed him to be released on a personal bond for a court case out of Wyandotte, according to Wyandotte Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton.
"I don't want to say I told you so, but I told you so," said Hamilton, referring to his warning that Catron would be in the wind again if given the chance.
"The guy can't stop victimizing people and committing crimes," he added.
Catron has a history of assault and resisting arrest. He also served time in prison for weapons and multiple incidents of Assault/Resist/Obstruct a police officer.
In a 2017 video posted to social media, Catron even recorded himself during a police chase, hurling expletives and saying "I'm not going back."
Hamilton said Catron has even bragged about assaulting people and intimidating witnesses.
Catron was paroled in September of 2022 and by October, he was involved in a high-speed chase with Wyandotte Police again.
Catron was charged and arraigned over a weekend and what stunned police was that Catron was allowed to walk out of jail on a personal bond.
In November, when he appeared in district court in Wyandotte, Judge Elizabeth DiSanto increased Catron's bond to $500,000 cash after an outburst from Catron in court.
In open court, Catron said, "I'll be downtown next week. They'll drop the bond. (expletive) you."
Catron apparently figured he'd have better luck getting released again pending trial with a judge in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Catron was right.
"He told everybody in that courtroom, including the judge, that he'll just go downtown and he'll get released next week. Well, guess what? That's exactly what happened," Deputy Chief Hamilton said.
Judge Deborah Thomas reduced Catron's bond back down to a $30,000 personal bond. Which meant Catron could walk right out of the Wayne County Jail.
"Tobias Catron has a history of violence, a history of running for the police, a history of defying authority, but yet, despite all of those factors, this particular judge thought it was a good idea to let him walk free and put a tether on him," Hamilton said.
7 Action News reached out to Judge Thomas for comment. A clerk said she was busy so we left a message. We have not heard back.
Catron's defense attorney, Edward Taylor, said he was able to secure that personal bond for his client because Catron had documented back injuries due to a crash in a stolen car.
Taylor said Catron told him that he was not getting proper medical care for his back while in jail.
"I appealed to the judge and the prosecutor about letting him get out where he can get his proper care from his doctor. I got documentation that he was going to the doctor and that's why he was allowed out," said Taylor.
Taylor said he did not know Catron had cut his tether off until 7 Action News told him Thursday. He said he should have figured something was up when Catron didn't return his recent messages.
And considering his history of defying authority, Catron got a pretty sweet deal to plead guilty to running from police in a motor vehicle. His attorney was able to keep him from returning to prison and all Catron would have to do was ten months in the county jail.
Taylor said Catron even thanked him for keeping him out of prison. But then Catron absconded, cut off his tether, which may very well mean the deal to do ten months in jail is off. Time will tell.
Thankfully, this week, the MDOC Absconder Recovery Unit was able to track Catron down to a house in Lincoln Park where he had been hiding out. It's unclear if he was taken into custody without incident.
He waived his hearing for a parole violation. And it's unclear what will happen to his parole status and it's also unclear what will happen to the case that involved Wyandotte Police.
Deputy Chief Hamilton believes there needs to be legislation that attaches prison time to crimes that involve people fleeing from authorities in a motor vehicle.
"They will not run anymore. Instead, they will park their car and they can run on foot. And that's fine. Let them run all day on foot. Our officers are trained for that. They'll chase them," Hamilton said. "But when they run in a vehicle, they're endangering everybody."
