Orion Township carjack shooting: Suspect had violent past, stalked his prey sheriff says

Orion Twp carjack shooting: Oakland County sheriff gives update

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the suspect in the Orion Township carjack shooting of a woman was a predator waiting for his prey. 

(FOX 2) - The suspect arrested in a carjack shooting of a woman in Orion Township was out on probation for a prior violent crime, it was learned Wednesday.

You can watch the press conference in the player above. 

The backstory:

The Oakland County sheriff said the victim, who was shot in the hip and carjacked in front of her young son outside Baldwin Commons, is expected to survive — but was wounded by a large artery.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard likened it to a hunter stalking his prey in the parking lot of Baldwin Commons.

"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. 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."

It happened around 5:45 p.m. outside a Panera Bread at the shopping plaza near I-75.

Bouchard said what makes him mad, is that the "victim should not have been a victim," bringing up the 25-year-old suspect's violent past.

The Ann Arbor man was on probation for duct taping and hogtying a woman to a bed and briefly suffocating her with a plastic bag threatening sexual assault, a year and a half ago, he said.

"We've got another tragic example ... which brings me to the conclusion some of these prosecutors just have to do their damn job," he said. "You've got an individual that's on the street for probation, no prison time.

Bouchard said that the police agency requested assault with intent to murder, punishable by up to life and unlawful imprisonment punishable by up to 10 years.

The Washtenaw County prosecutor charged the Ann Arbor man with assault with intent to do great bodily harm, a 10-year felony.

"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 is that how the justice system works for our victims? I don't think so."

Bouchard said his office is working with the local prosecutor and potentially federal charges for the largest penalty.

The sheriff said the victim has a long road medically to navigate, while the suspect was so uncooperative he would not reveal his name.

Responding police found the suspect helped by a License Plate Reader camera which indicated the suspect's vehicle was heading northbound, then flooded that area with support.

"He was spotted, a short chase ensued, he crashed," Bouchard said. "A perimeter was set, drones and dogs and helicopters and all of our law enforcement partners set up a perimeter."

An undercover auto theft detective in plainclothes in a plane car spotted him in that perimeter and arrested him.

"Within an hour and a half, we had a complete unknown for committing a very violent, random crime in custody," Bouchard said. "So I think that is amazing work on behalf of our team and our partners."

The discharged bullet has been recovered, and the weapon with extra ammunition was recovered. Tests will be done on the firearm to see if it has been involved in any other incidents. 

Woman shot during random Oakland County carjacking

A random shooting and carjacking rocked what the Oakland County sheriff described as "a quiet community" on Tuesday evening. According to authorities, a suspect shot a woman in front of her child before speeding off in her vehicle in Orion Township.