ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 25-year-old Ann Arbor man has been charged in connection with a shooting and carjacking in Orion Township earlier this week.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has charged Mauriel Hearn with carjacking, assault with intent to murder, fleeing a police officer, resisting a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon and three counts of felony firearm.
Watch the arraignment in the video below
Hearn was arraigned on those charges Friday morning and remanded to jail. His bond was denied.
Hearn's defense attorney said she plans to file a motion to change the venue for future hearings, arguing that Hearn wouldn't get a fair trial due to the coverage across the media and comments from Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
“We are objecting and intend to file a motion regarding the elected sheriff’s comment on this case. We believe that they have infected and tainted the potential jury pool," Oakland County Deputy Chief Public Defender Lindsay Abramson said. “There’s just been a number of comments that have really legally affected (Hearn's) right to have a fair trial, a fair impartial jury in Oakland County and we do intend to file a motion for a change of venue as a result of those comments.”
Judge Laura Polizzi said an arraignment is not the proper time to bring up the argument.
“Those are not appropriately addressed today. You may file a motion if you’d like the court to address that at a future time, but today we are addressing bond and arraignment," Polizzi said.
Hearn’s attorney entered not guilty pleas on all eight of his felony counts, adding that her client is not competent enough to speak for himself.
Bouchard says Hearn shot a woman in the hip as her 11-year-old son watched in broad daylight Tuesday outside a shopping plaza near Baldwin Road and I-75 in Orion Township and then stole her car. He was arrested about 90 minutes later following a high-speed chase.
Bouchard has been outspoken about the suspect's criminal history, saying he never should have been out of parole.
"I just said the facts. Our suspect has a violent history that he pled to and he got a deal that I don't think he should have. The prosecutor and the judge put, I believe, a person that's violent out on the street in a position hurt other people," Bouchard said regarding the public defender's comments in court Friday. "This is a predator, in my opinion, that needed to be off the street when he was first caught and pled guilty to a violent crime."
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
Bouchard provided an update Wednesday, expressing frustration that the suspect was out on the streets. He pointed to the 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
7 News Detroit 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.
Meanwhile, mothers and shoppers in the area say they are staying vigilant, given that such a brazen crime occurred in broad daylight.
"Just as a mom of three young boys and oftentimes traveling by myself, it makes me nervous and just more aware of my surroundings," Stacey Littleton, who works in the area, said.
