By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – Two cousins who claimed they had a disagreement with a prostitute remained in custody last week, charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 23-year-old Detroit woman.
A preliminary examination of evidence against Fernando DeLon Anderson, 24 of Detroit, and his 19-year-old cousin, Fernando DeLon Anderson IV of Lincoln Park, was held May 3 before 25th District Court Judge Greg Clifton. The cousins remained held on $500,000 cash bond each and await a continuation of the preliminary exam on May 10.
The two could face life in prison if convicted of charges stemming from a March 30 report of a woman’s abduction from a drug store parking lot. The woman told police the men had taken her at gunpoint on a drive through Lincoln Park and into Detroit, during which she was sexually assaulted.
Last week’s hearing was delayed to allow time for defense counsel to obtain requested materials from prosecutors.
The cousins denied the charges and said the woman was a prostitute who had filed a police report following a dispute over money.
Both men are charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, robbery, kidnapping – punishable by up to life in prison – and felony firearm possession.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)