(WWJ/AP) A Detroit man released from prison early because of the COVID-19 threat has been charged with the attempted murder of his mother and fiancée.
Ronald Segars, 49, is accused of shooting the two women during an argument with his fiancée at a home on Normandy near Puritan on December 14.
WDIV reports his mother, 64, attempted to break up the physical brawl, and he then shot her.
Segars was serving a five-year federal sentence for drug and gun crimes in Morgantown, West Virginia.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow released him over the summer and gave him the green light to return to Detroit on supervised release.
Segars told the judge he had high blood tension and had survived a stroke—which would likely put him at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19. He had spent two years in prison.
“Segars’ crimes were serious, but the quality of his time in prison has shown that he has the educational and correctional tools to live a life apart from crime,” Tarnow said in June to the Associated Press. “Finally, the potential danger of Segars’ medical conditions outweigh any marginal benefit he would receive from finishing his remaining time in prison.”
He had promised the judge to get a job and turn his life around.
Federal prosecutors pleaded with the judge to keep him locked up, due to his criminal record.
His fiancée is in critical condition and his mother has been released from the hospital, according to WDIV.
The Associated Press reported 1 out of every five state and federal prisoners have contracted the virus, about 275,000 in total. 1,700 have passed away.