Livonia man involved in high-speed chase faces felony counts in unrelated Detroit crash, shooting

Christine Ferretti and George Hunter, The Detroit News
·4 min read

Mar. 20—A 21-year-old Livonia man released from jail on a personal bond this week after being charged for his role in a high-speed police chase is facing a new set of felony charges in connection with a separate crime from last fall.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Joshua McCormick is set to be arraigned Sunday on charges stemming from a November traffic crash and shooting in Detroit.

The office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy announced Saturday that it has charged McCormick with assault with intent to murder, unlawful driving away of an automobile and two counts of felony firearm in the Nov. 21, 2020, shooting.

McCormick is scheduled to face the charges in 34th District Court in Romulus. He also is charged with a misdemeanor offense of failure to report an accident.

The latest round of charges for McCormick come after Detroit Police said during a Wednesday news conference McCormick and a second individual —18-year-old Terrence Jordan — had been freed from jail Monday without posting bond after they allegedly pointed a gun at a police corporal and his partner and led officers on a high-speed chase. The ordeal ended, police said, when the car plowed into a police cruiser.

Detroit officers detailed the March 12 incident and its aftermath during an unrelated news conference at the department's 9th Precinct.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig and city police have expressed concern over Wayne County judges freeing dangerous criminals with low or no bond, amid efforts to revamp the cash bail system, which advocates have argued unfairly punishes poor defendants.

Detroit police Cpl. Jason Tonti said Wednesday that he and his partner, Jeremy Rule, were patrolling in the 6th Precinct in northwest Detroit around 10:30 p.m. March 12, when they spotted Jordan standing in the street holding a pistol. He was accompanied by McCormick, Tonti told reporters.

The pair saw the officers and jumped into a white Dodge Charger and took off, he said.

Tonti said the officers tried to follow, but the vehicle pulled over, Jordan exited and pointed the gun in the direction of himself and his fellow officer. Tonti followed the Charger onto westbound Interstate 96, "where (Jordan) shut his lights off and drove at an even higher rate of speed," he said.

The corporal said he pulled off the Telegraph exit and headed back toward the 6th Precinct. When the squad car got to Fielding Street, Tonti said the Charger pulled up behind them.

A Michigan State Police unit responded and chased the Charger, which careened onto northbound Evergreen "with a speed that got up to 108 mph," Tonti said.

The pursuit ended when the Charger slammed into a Detroit police scout car at Kentfield and Glendale. Officers, he said, recovered from the car a 9mm Glock handgun with an extended magazine that holds 30 rounds.

Wayne County prosecutors authorized charges for Jordan and McCormick of two counts each of felonious assault and fleeing police. The men were arraigned Monday before Chief 36th District Magistrate Millicent Sherman.

Sherman released the defendants on $2,000 personal bond.

McCormick's attorney James Schlaff told The News on Thursday that it was early in the case and that McCormick "still has a presumption of innocence." Jordan's attorney David Cripps echoed Schlaff.

Schlaff could not be immediately reached Saturday for comment.

In the November incident McCormick is accused in, prosecutors said Detroit Police were dispatched to Eight Mile Road and Vaughn just after 5 p.m. on Nov. 21 and found a 38-year-old Detroit man with gunshot wounds.

It is alleged that McCormick was driving a stolen car when he rear-ended the car of the victim, who was stopped at a traffic light.

When the victim got out of his car to inspect the damage, prosecutors said, a brief exchange between the man and McCormick ensued. McCormick then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot the victim multiple times.

Craig on Wednesday said the alleged behavior of McCormick and Jordan — and judge's decision to release them on personal bond — reflect a "growing culture of disrespect" for police officers.

Craig repeatedly has lambasted judges' bond decisions, including during a March 4 Detroit Board of Police Commissioners meeting in which law enforcement officials discussed efforts to reform the cash bail system.

Chief Judge Timothy Kenny of Wayne County Circuit Court said during the meeting that the issue of bail reform is often misrepresented. The Wayne County Jail, he said at the time, is full of poor, nonviolent criminals who'd benefit from bail reform.

"You shouldn't be in jail because you're poor; but by the same token, there should certainly be the opportunity for judges to set bail ... if a judge has reason to believe the person isn't going to come back or poses a danger to the community," Kenny told commissioners at the time. "We're trying to reach that happy medium."

cferretti@detroitnews.com

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