Man charged after woman shot, carjacked outside Oakland County business
ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 25-year-old Ann Arbor man is facing charges after he allegedly shot a woman during a carjacking Tuesday in Orion Township.
Mauriel Dashawn Hearn was charged Friday with carjacking, assault with intent to murder, fleeing police, resisting police, carrying a concealed weapon, and three counts of felony firearm.
Hearn was denied bond, and will remain in the Oakland County Jail while his case moves through the legal system.
The backstory:
The victim was with her son outside a Panera Bread in the Baldwin Commons shopping plaza when authorities say Hearn approached her around 5:45 p.m. There was a confrontation before he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the woman in front of her child. Hearn then took her keys and sped away in her vehicle, authorities said.
"As soon as she got to the parking lot, he ran, literally ran around a car and then confronted her and her young child and shot her to take her car," he said. "There was a lot of blood on scene," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "I was there, and I was also at the hospital. And the first words out of one of the nurses was, she's lost a lot of blood. We're lucky she's alive."
Using drones and license plate readers, authorities located the stolen vehicle about 17 miles away in Groveland Township. There was a brief chase before Hearn crashed and was arrested.
The woman who was shot suffered a gunshot wound to the hip. She underwent surgery and is expected to be OK.
What they're saying:
Bouchard slammed prosecutors after the crime, saying that Hearn shouldn't have been on the streets.
According to Bouchard, Hearn has a violent past that included duct taping and hog-tying a woman to a bed and briefly suffocating her with a plastic bag while he allegedly threatened to sexually assault her.
"He gets two years 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 street saying no harm, no foul," the sheriff said. "Is that how the justice system works for our victims? I don't think so."
Orion Township carjack shooting: Suspect had violent past, stalked his prey sheriff says
Sheriff Michael Bouchard likened it to a hunter stalking his prey in the parking lot of Baldwin Commons.
In a press release announcing charges against Hearn, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald agreed that he shouldn't have been out of jail.
"The victims, a mother and her young child, should never have been placed in this dangerous situation because I believe this defendant should be behind bars for previous crimes," McDonald said. "My priority is always public safety. As prosecutors, we have a responsibility to protect the public from violent individuals like the defendant in this case. If we lose sight of that, bad things can happen to good people. I look forward to working with law enforcement to hold this defendant accountable and protect our communities."
The other side:
During Hearn's arraignment, his attorney said she believes Bouchard's comments about her client will affect his right to a fair trial.
She plans to file a change of venue request. His lawyer also said she plans to request a competency hearing.
The Source: Previous reporting and a press release from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.