Warren man charged with ethnic intimidation, shooting into home of Black couple pleads guilty

Warren couple relieved after arrest made in racial hate crime siege

Eddie and Candace Hall found out the good news about the arrest on the news. Immediately they said they felt hope.

WARREN, Mich. - A Warren man and his father have both pleaded guilty following a hate crimes investigation led by the police department following a series of incidents of harassment and ethnic intimidation of a Black couple.

Michael John Frederick, 25, was charged with several weapons discharging, felony firearm, and ethnic intimidation counts. He pleaded no contest on July 6.

The charges include malicious destruction of a building $1,000 to $20,000, malicious destruction of property $200 to $1,000, three counts of ethnic intimidation, and two counts of felony firearm and discharging into a building.

Along with Frederick, his father also entered no contest pleas for evidence tampering, lying to a peace officer, and accessory after the fact to a felony. If he pays restitution to the amount of $3,050, he will only serve time for lying to an officer.

The charges stem from an escalating series of events in early September of 2020 when Eddie and Candace Hall were targeted by gunfire, rocks being thrown into their home, and having their vehicle scribbled with obscenities and its tires being slashed.

The Warren police commissioner announced that police had made an arrest late September. By then, surveillance footage spied a man stalking around the couple's home and shooting into the building.

The Halls believed they were targeted because of the Black Lives Matter signs in their front lawn. The incident happened during very heated political tensions in the country; less than a month before the 2020 presidential election.

The events also forced the couple to stay in hotels as police investigated the crimes.

Frederick is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 16. He is currently held in the Macomb County jail.