By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
A 23-year-old Detroit man was bound over to Wayne County Circuit Court Tuesday where he will be charged with stealing a truck and taking police on a three-city chase.
A preliminary examination before Lincoln Park’s 25th District Court Judge David J. Zelenak confirmed charges against Blake Jordan Avery of unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison; receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, a five-year felony; and felony assault on a police officer, punishable by up to two years in prison. Avery is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors maintain that on Aug. 30, Avery and another as-yet identified suspect stole a 2003 Dodge Ram from in front of a residence in the 600 block of Leblanc Avenue. The truck belongs to a Tennessee woman who was visiting relatives in Lincoln Park. Police were notified of the stolen vehicle about 2:30 a.m. when the victim’s relative saw two men drive away in the vehicle. Patrol officers soon located the truck, and were taken on a chase through Detroit and into River Rouge, where the Ram crashed into a railroad crossing before pulling in to the River Rouge High School parking lot.
At the school, officers chased, struggled with and finally apprehended Avery. The second suspect, a 25-year-old black male with short dark hair, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, was not located.
Avery remained in custody, unable to post 10 percent of a $50,000 bond.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])