Prisoner faces murder charge in Macomb County Circuit Court
Ketchum allegedly stabbed, wounded another inmate
A prisoner accused of killing a fellow inmate at the state prison in northern Macomb County was ordered Thursday to face the allegations in Macomb County Circuit Court.
Micheal Ketchum, 46, was bound over to the higher court in Mount Clemens by Judge William Hackel III of 42-II District Court in New Baltimore on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and prisoner in possession of a weapon for his alleged actions in October 2022 at the Macomb Correctional Facility, as ordered.
On Oct. 18, 2022, authorities allege Ketchum stabbed an inmate in the head, neck and arm at breakfast at the Lenox Township facility, according to law enforcement officials. When corrections officers inspected his cell, they discovered another inmate “hogtied, strangled, and stabbed to death underneath his bed,” according to a news release from the county Prosecutor’s Office.
The slaying victim was identified as Ruben Martinez, 28, who was serving time for a 2011 armed robbery in Saginaw County, as well as crimes committed in prison in January 2022.
The prisoner who was stabbed was treated at an area hospital and released.
Ketchum was immediately transferred to another prison and is currently at the Ionia Correctional Facility.
He was serving long prison terms for an attempted murder in 2019 in Saginaw County in 2019 and attempted murder and armed robbery in 2009 in Kalamazoo County, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.
The homicide was the third that year at the 26 Mile Road facility. Within days of the incident, warden George Stephenson was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. His current status was unclear Friday.
One of the prior murder victims was Martell Smith, 26, who was found murdered on May 30, 2022. Family members said he was involved in a fight when another inmate stabbed him in the neck with a shank.
Elrick D. Cooper, 56, was later charged with second degree murder and faces a preliminary examination next Friday in front of Judge Hackel.
The other prior victim was Christopher Neely, 33, who died after he was stabbed multiple times in prison Sept. 18, 2022. It was unclear if anyone was charged.