ORION TWP. (WWJ) -- A man accused of shooting and carjacking a woman in an Oakland County shopping center parking lot this week has been charged with multiple felonies.
Mauriel Hearn, 25, of Ann Arbor has been charged by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office with the following: carjacking, assault with intent to murder, fleeing a police officer, resisting a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, and three counts of felony firearm.
Hearn is accused of confronting a 44-year-old woman and she and her young son as they walked out of the Old Navy store at the Baldwin Commons, on Baldwin Rd. in Orion Township, Tuesday evening.
Investigators said Hearn demanded the woman's keys before shooting her, taking her purse, and then driving away in her car.
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies used the FLOCK camera system to track down the suspect, chasing him at speeds over 100 miles per hour before Hearn crashed into a guard rail. Officials said Hearn jumped out of the car and tried to flee on foot, but was caught and arrested.
The woman was taken to a hospital in serious condition, but is expected to recover.
In a statement, Prosecutor Karen McDonald noted that Hearn has an extensive criminal record, and should have been in jail.
“The victims, a mother and her young child, should never have been placed in this dangerous situation because I believe this defendant should be behind bars for previous crimes,” said McDonald, 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. I look forward to working with law enforcement to hold this defendant accountable and protect our communities.”
Hearn appeared in 52-3 District Court for an arraignment on Friday, and was ordered held without bond.
At the arraignment, his defense attorney Lindsey Abramson suggested that Hearn was not competent to enter a plea, so she entered a "not guilty" plea on his behalf.
Abramson also told the court that the defense is disappointed with comments made by Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard about the case this week.
"The sheriff has gone on radio shows and had press conferences where he talks about my client he thinks might have assaulted or killed other people," Abramson said. "He (Bouchard) has talked about discussions regarding another case, a prior crime that my client's been convicted of."
With that in mind, Abramson said she will file a court order to request a change of venue for the upcoming trial.
Hearn faces up to life in prison if he's convicted as charged.
