Preliminary exam set for robbery, murder case
Judge questions authority to appoint GAL for teen defendant but does so anyway
Four people facing charges in connection with the robbery and murder of a Pontiac man will return to 50th District Court on March 7 for a preliminary exam, where a judge will determine if the case proceeds.
Maleik Gilmore, 22, died Nov. 14, 2021 after being hit by gunfire while on Ridgemont Drive in Pontiac then crashing his car into several vehicles. According to investigators, Gilmore was shot in a drug deal gone wrong.
Eric Burrell, Jr., 16, Torrion Wilson, 17 and Demetrious Brox, Jr., 20, are charged with armed robbery and homicide in connection with the incident. Burrell’s and Brox’s mother, Jennifer Marie Wilson, 39, is charged with being an accessory after the fact for reportedly trying to help the suspects evade authorities. Jennifer Wilson is reportedly not related to Torrion Wilson.
According to investigators, Gilmore was selling drugs to the three male defendants and was shot as they attempted to rob him. Detectives have identified Burrell as the shooter.
And while Burrell had a court-appointed attorney soon after his arrest, he’d gone without a lawyerguardian adlitem for several weeks — but that changed after 50th District Judge Ronda Gross took matters in her own hands on Jan. 13 during a probable cause conference. Her move came a few weeks after another court hearing on the case when she expressed concern that a lawyer-guardian ad-litem hadn’t yet been appointed for Burrell, and that it should have happened soon after he was arrested. A lawyerguardian ad litem — commonly referred to as a GAL — looks out for the best interests of a child, particularly when a parent is unable to do so. As a co-defendant in the case, Jennifer Wilson is prohibited to have any contact with him.
During Thursday’s court hearing held via Zoom, Gross made the appointment herself — though she said doesn’t believe she has the authority to do so.
‘Cloaked in innocence’
Prior to Gross making the appointment, Burrell’s court-appointed attorney Richard Taylor told the judge, during the hearing, that he’d “met a crossroad” in attempting to get a GAL for his client. After filing a petition for a GAL with the county’s probate court, he said he was told his request was premature. He subsequently reached out to Oakland County Circuit Court where he was told to file a petition — which he already had — and was advised that a district court judge did indeed have the authority to make such an appointment, he said.
After private consultation in a Zoom “break-out” room with assistant prosecutor Ric Polanco, all four defense attorneys on the case and Peter Menna, counsel for Oakland County, the judge heard a motion from Polanco and the defense attorneys, calling on her to make the GAL appointment.
In making the appointment — despite being unconvinced it’s within her jurisdiction — Gross said she believes “the justice system is letting Mr. Burrell down,” adding that the teen is “cloaked in innocence.”
“I’m going to do my best to fill in the gap, as long as (the case) is here at Pontiac’s 50th District (Court). Hopefully, the powers to be at the 6th circuit family court figures it out,” she said. “No juvenile should be without a guardian adlitem when charged with such a heavy matter — a life offense in this matter. I guess it takes this court to facilitate this.”
She also said that she “prays funds are available” to cover the GAL’s fees. Taylor, however, said it shouldn’t be a problem since Burrell is represented by a court-appointed attorney and Oakland County is expected to pay for both.
Earlier this month, Betsey Hage, chief of administration for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, told The Oakland Press that GALs are appointed by the court on a “case by case basis” and that an appointment can be made by a district court judge.
For the March 7 preliminary exam, Polanco said he expects to call up to five witnesses. The proceeding will be held in-person but won’t be open to the public — including family members. It will, however, be available for viewing on the judge’s YouTube page.