New hearing delayed for Detroit man accused of shooting teen with autism

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A preliminary examination for a man accused of shooting a teen with autism in Detroit was pushed back a few weeks for the judge to review previous hearing transcripts.

Robert Pugh appeared in 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles' courtroom for a second time Friday in connection with the shooting of 18-year-old Claude Woosck. In May, Giles ruled that there was not enough evidence for the case against Pugh to advance, but made the decision without prejudice, allowing the prosecution to have the option to re-charge Pugh in the future.

Earlier this month, the prosecution moved to re-charge Pugh with the same charges he originally faced: assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, and three counts of felony firearm,

However, Giles said he was not able to rehear the case at this time.

According to Giles, legally he can hear new evidence and listen to testimony from new witnesses. In order to do this, he must have the transcripts from the previous preliminary exam. Since he was not informed that he was hearing a re-filed case and was not provided with the transcripts, he set a new date.

Pugh will return to court Oct. 9 for the prelim.

The backstory:

Pugh is accused of shooting Woosck in the area of Lenox Street and E. Warren Avenue on April 9. Prosecutors alleged that Woosck was lost and was confronted by Pugh after taking a photo of an address to send his sister. However, Woosck's testimony included conflicting details.

After the shooting, his sister, Violet Woosck, said her brother had called her because an Uber had dropped him off in the wrong neighborhood, and he was lost and confused. She said she told her brother to take a photo of a nearby address. This is what she said allegedly led to Pugh allegedly coming outside, frisking her brother, and shooting him in the back as he ran away.

While on the stand during Pugh's preliminary examination in May, Woosck told a different story. He testified that he was walking toward Warren when an unknown person shot him in the back twice. Video from a nearby liquor store showed a person running.

Before dismissing the case, the judge noted that no one saw the shooter, and pointed out that the victim said no one touched him or talked to him.

Dig deeper:

Woosck's autism diagnosis was not part of the court hearing. When the prosecution questioned Woosck about any disabilities, the judge shut down the question, saying that it was not relevant, and he was not informed about any health conditions prior to court.

The prosecution argued that the autism diagnosis was important because it could impact the victim's ability to recall what happened.

"I should've been asked to make an assessment on that before he started talking," Giles said at the time.

What's next:

Pugh is due in court Sept. 26 for a preliminary examination on the re-filed charges.

The Source: Previous FOX 2 reporting and court records were used to write this story.