Police detail arrest in racist attacks
Tipster in case declines $3,000 reward, ‘wanted to do the right thing’
Partisan politics and hatred appears to have been the motives behind a series of attacks against a Black Warren family, police said Wednesday in announcing the arrest of a suspect.
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer told reporters the 24-year-old male suspect, who is white and lives a few blocks away from the targeted family, confessed after being confronted by police at his home.
The suspect, who will be arraigned Thursday on eight felony and one misdemeanor charges, did not know the family, he added.
“We have recovered the clothing, the mask and the shoes worn during the commission of these crimes,” Dwyer said.
Three incidents took place during the evening hours Sept. 7-10 at the home of Eddie and Candace Hall, who are Black. They and their 16-year-old daughter endured shots being shots fired at their Tallman Avenue home, along with a large rock thrown through a living room window, vehicle tires slashed and racist language scrawled on their vehicles.
Investigators said another resident — who is white— was targeted a couple of blocks away that the suspect also confessed to.
The common factor in both attacks was the families had signs on their property expressing support for Black Lives Matter, along with Democratic candidates and causes in the upcoming election, investigators said.
Suspect went “too far” The Halls thanked the police for their “awesome” work.
Candace Hall, a nurse, said the Tallman area is an ethnically diverse neighborhood that has shown support and comfort during their frightening ordeal over the past three weeks.
“They knew it was too far,” she said. “That guy went too far. You might not believe what I believe, but we went too far.”
The police commissioner, who had said from the onset that the case was the department’s No. 1 priority, said a combination of tips from the public including crucial information from a confidential informant, assistance from the FBI, and “good old-fashioned police work” resulted in the arrest. That included 720 hours of surveillance and 340 hours of investigatory work by a team of 25 officers.
A $3,000 reward had been offered in the case, but a key tipster declined to accept the money, according to Sgt. Gregory Booton.
“He wanted to do the right thing,” Booton said.
Investigators quickly linked a separate incident that happened on Tom Allen Drive, a few blocks away from the Halls’ residence.
In that case, someone threw a brick through the victim’s front window and scrawled the word “pedophile” with a red magic marker on political lawn signs for U.S. Senator Gary Peters and others.
After being confronted by police who showed up at his parent’s house Tuesday, the suspect “expressed remorse,” Dwyer said. Investigators talked with himfor several hours before he was taken into custody.
The Halls were too afraid to spend the night in their home, so they’ve been staying at an area hotel. Because they didn’t know who their attacker was, they had a “fear of the unknown,” the couple said.
Candace and Eddie Hall said they are Christians and have already forgiven the suspect.
“I feel sorry for his parents because they have to deal with their child,” Candace Hall said.
“I feel sorry for his mother and I will pray for her. I will pray for (the suspect) for his acts of hate. But love overcomes hate. We all bleed red, I know that because I am a nurse.”
She said the placement of the Black Lives Matter sign was not meant to indicate the lives of other races don’t matter. Rather in this time of racial reckoning in the United States, the focus has been on transgressions committed against Black people over the years.
Candace Hall said she wants to live in an inclusive community that stands for equality and believes the Tallman Avenue neighborhood is just that, despite what her family has been through.
“We want to stand firm in what we believe in” her husband added.
The couple said they enjoyed good relations with their neighbors prior to the incidents, and even better ones since then. They said area residents of several races have gone out of their way to express support and condolences for the family.
Eddie Hall said the couple’s daughter is still apprehensive about going home. He said the family plans for her to take “baby steps” in their return. “She’s in a bad place,” he said.
Gun not yet recovered Police have not yet recovered the gun used in the shootings. The suspect told police he found it in his parent’s garage, but so far, investigators have been unable to locate it.
Mayor Jim Fouts commended the police for sticking with the case in a time when public sentiment has been anti-law enforcement in recent months. He also noted there had been criticism of the Warren police’s tactics on social media, adding police were unable to respond without blowing the investigation.
“There were things said that weren’t always kind during the investigation,” he said. “But clearly, they got the bad guy. And the message from this is, the city of Warren does not tolerate racism, we don’t tolerate terrorism.”
The suspect is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in 37th District Court. Macomb County prosecutors have authorized eight felony charges that include ethnic intimidation, discharging a weapon, felony firearm, malicious destruction of a building, and malicious destruction of personal property.
He was being held in the Warren police lockup until he is arraigned by Judge Michael C. Chupa.