He Hog-Tied a Woman, Suffocated Her, Then Eli Savit Let Him Go

A mother and her young child were leaving a shopping center in Orion Township on May 19. They were confronted by a man who ran toward them and shot the mother during a carjacking.

A license plate reader helped officers find and subdue the man, who the Oakland County Prosecutor’s office says is a 25-year-old Ann Arbor resident.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard was scathing during his press conference on the violent attack. And, according to Bouchard and Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, it was all preventable.

According to Bouchard, the suspect had been released on probation for a previous violent crime involving the hog-tying, duct-taping, and brief suffocation of a woman, along with a threat of sexual assault. Bouchard told reporters, “And he's back out on the streets, saying no harm, no foul? Is that how the justice system works?"

Bouchard also said—clearly referring to Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit: "Some of these prosecutors just have to do their damn job."

Savit is the Democratic nominee for attorney general.

McDonald echoed Bouchard in a statement: “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.”

McDonald charged the defendant 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 possession.

Doug Lloyd, the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney and Republican nominee for attorney general, told Michigan Enjoyer that he wishes the woman a full recovery. He also put the blame on Savit.

"This case demonstrates the failures of progressive 'criminal justice reforms' and raises serious concerns about accountability within our criminal justice system,” Lloyd added. “Michigan deserves an attorney general that will put public safety first and work to ensure that violent offenders face meaningful consequences."

Given Savit’s soft-on-crime approach, every Michigander should remain vigilant. As an Oakland County mother and her child experienced this month, Savit’s policies can lead to severe and potentially fatal outcomes.

It was already difficult to imagine McDonald endorsing Savit, but after the shooting of a mother in front of her child outside an Oakland County shopping center, that now seems impossible.

McDonald deserves credit for putting public safety before partisan politics.