WARREN, Mich. – A verbal altercation between a Warren resident and vehicle passenger last week become fatal, Warren police say.
On April 16 at around 9:45 p.m. patrol officers responded to a call from a man down on Cyman near Toepfer. Officers found 30-year-old Warren resident James Russell Harbaugh, severely injured lying in the street.
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The Warren Fire Department transported him to Detroit Receiving Hospital where he later died of his injuries.
A neighborhood resident’s video surveillance system captured the entire incident. Officers identified the suspect vehicle as a white Ford Crown Victoria.
A passenger in that vehicle exited and physically assaulted Harbaugh after what appeared to be a verbal altercation.
Harbaugh stood in the street after the passenger re-entered the vehicle. The vehicle struck Harbaugh and fled southbound speeding.
On April 18 shortly after 6 a.m., officer Nicholas Tate of the Warren Police Department located the vehicle parked in the driveway in the 8000 block of Ford Avenue in Warren.
The vehicle’s windshield appeared to have been recently replaced. Tate requested the assistance of detectives Mark Ptaszek and Dale Vanhorn.
Police say 32-year-old Chesterfield Township resident, Jamaris Tayron Wells, is the driver of the Ford Crown Victoria.
Wells struck Harbaugh, fled the scene, and attempted to cover up the crime by replacing the vehicle’s windshield the next day.
Prosecutor William Cataldo authorized charges for homicide-first degree, failure to stop at scene of accident causing death, lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation, and DWLS 2nd offense.
Wells was arraigned on Monday before Judge Matthew Sabaugh in the 37th District Court. The judge set bond at $500,000 cash or surety with a GPS tether. The passenger has not been identified.
“Without the dedicated, combined teamwork of our patrol and Investigative Services Divisions, this violent perpetrator may have gotten away with this horrific, senseless crime,” said Warren police commissioner Bill Dwyer.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 586-574-4789.