PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Oakland County sheriff is sounding off on a magistrate who he said is going soft on crime.
Magistrate Angelina Marie Thomas-Scruggs is accused of setting bond too low in more than one case. The latest case involves domestic violence and shots being fired.
Legally, the suspect shouldn't have been anywhere near his girlfriend in the first place.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
On Tuesday, Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Robertlee Rogers and his girlfriend got into an argument at her home at the Spring Lake Village apartments.
When she tried to leave in her vehicle with her 2-year-old, investigators said Rogers shot at them. Fortunately, the bullet hit the front bumper.
He ran, but deputies caught him.
Despite being charged with five felonies in this incident, the magistrate gave him a $1,000 personal bond.
Bouchard criticized the bond amount.
"When you've got a violent offender that shoots a gun at a child and a woman, who's back out on the street before the paper is dry, that's wrong and someone is going to get killed or hurt in cases like this. We've seen it time and time again," he told 7 News Detroit.
"We received an email from the mother of that victim angry that that person had got out. I agree. He shouldn't haven't got out. The mother of this victim said he had been violating her repeatedly over time, and he's going to end up killing her or her grandchildren," the sheriff explained.
The sheriffs department said Rogers shouldn't have been near the victim because of a domestic violence incident in June. In that case, we're told the magistrate issued an injunctive bond order. It's similar to a personal protection order and told him to stay away from the woman.
According to authorities, Rogers received a $4,000 cash or surety bond, which is higher than what he received this week.
"The very same magistrate had another individual we had charged with multiple, multiple serious counts. Drug related, guns related, weapons related, multiple convictions on weapons offenses and got out for like $500. It's frustrating because again, somebody's going to get killed before this stops, and it shouldn't be that way," Bouchard said.
In a statement to 7 News Detroit, Jeff Wattrick with the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office wrote:
"The Oakland County Prosecutor's office has charged Robertlee Rogers with 5 felonies. The court set a personal bond without a prosecutor present, and our office is preparing an emergency motion to increase the bond to an amount that better reflects the seriousness of the allegations in this case."
The court administrator told 7 News Detroit that the court has no comment and that the bond is under review.
