Man faces trial on charges he fired gun at girlfriend
Suspect found competent to stand trial after psych exam
After undergoing a psychiatric exam, a Ferndale man was ordered to stand trial on charges he fired a gunshot at his live-in girlfriend during an argument.
Suspect Thomas Gilbert, 38, was in Ferndale 43rd District Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing before Judge Joseph Longo, who ordered Gilbert to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court.
He was found competent to stand trial at a hearing late last month following a psychiatric exam that Longo ordered at the request of Gilbert’s courtappointed attorney, Daniel Hilf.
The psychiatric exam delayed hearings in Gilbert’s case by about two months.
The shooting happened Aug. 7 and the suspect is being held on $75,000 bond in Oakland County Jail.
Gilbert is charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon, a four-year felony; discharge of a firearm in a building, a 10-year felony; and two counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, each punishable by up to two years in prison.
Police said Gilbert has no prior criminal history.
The shooting happened shortly before midnight inside a house on East Hazelhurst. Police say Gilbert was intoxicated and had been arguing with his girlfriend.
A witness, a man who lived in the basement of the house, told police he heard a gunshot and fled the house.
Police said Gilbert was about five yards away from his live-in girlfriend when he fired a shot at her and missed.
The woman fled the house and drove to the Ferndale police station to report the shooting. Officers went to the house and arrested the suspect without any trouble, police said.
Police also recovered two handguns from the house.
Gilbert is scheduled to be arraigned for trial at 1 p.m. Nov. 17 before Circuit Judge Michael Warren.