STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – A Macomb County man is facing a possible life sentence after carjacking an elderly woman outside a Walmart in Sterling Heights, officials said.
The incident happened Nov. 12 in the parking lot of the Walmart on Mound Road, according to authorities.
Police said Jason Graves, 37, of Eastpointe, is accused of carjacking an elderly woman and driving away in her Jeep.
“This madness needs to stop,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said. “The defendant is looking at life in prison for the senseless violence of stealing a car from an elderly woman.”
The Jeep was found hours later in the parking lot of a Super 8 Motel, but Graves escaped, according to officials.
“When police officers attempted to apprehend and arrest the suspect, one officer who feared for his life had to fire his weapon at the suspect,” a release from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Graves drove north on Van Dyke Avenue and crashed into another vehicle on 15 Mile Road, authorities said. Officers took him into custody at the scene of the crash. He was not injured.
Graves is charged with carjacking, third-degree fleeing and eluding, felonious assault, and resisting and obstructing. Carjacking is a life offense, fleeing and eluding is a five-year felony, felonious assault is a four-year felony, and resisting and obstructing is a two-year felony.
He was arraigned at Sterling Heights District Court and originally given a $20,000 bond, cash/surety, no 10%. His bond was increased Monday to $75,000, and Graves must wear a GPS tether, if released.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday (Nov. 23), and a preliminary examination is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Nov. 30.
