ROMULUS (WWJ) - A new competency hearing has been set for a Canton Township teen charged with murder in a high-speed, head-on crash last spring.
Defense attorney David Cripps says 17-year-old Michaiah Carlin Minor has deteriorated psychologically since the death of his grandmother, who was his legal guardian and the backbone of his client's life.
At a brief hearing in District Court in Romulus Thursday, Cripps said it's clear that Minor needs help.
"He's in a trance right now," he told the judge."When I talk to him he's not adequately responding, and...when someone is psychologically fragile to begin with you have a concern that some kind of major incident in life can cause a psychological break."
Reporting from the courtroom, WWJ's Ron Dewey said the judge agreed to postpone a preliminary hearing, and granted a new competency exam to determine whether Minor is fit to stand trial.
Minor had no driver's license in May, 2019, when he was at the wheel of a speeding car that police said ran a red light on Belleville Road, near Ecorse Road in Van Buren Township. He crossed the center line into northbound traffic, according to investigators, where he crashed into a second vehicle.
A man in that other car, 64-year-old John McElreath of Van Buren, died at a local hospital.
Minor, who was hospitalized with injuries after the crash, is charged with second degree murder.
Cripps asserts, however, that McElreath's death was not his client's fault.
"Those watching will see that this is just a tragic accident and there was no planning activity ahead of time at all," he said. "He had no malice."
