Michigan's justice system is under fire after a man on probation for hog-tying and suffocating a woman was only given probation in Washtenaw County Circuit Court in 2025.
This week, that man, Mauriel Dashawn Hearn, 25, of Ann Arbor, is accused of shooting a mom in the hip in front of her 11-year-old son at a shopping mall, and then stealing the mom’s car, and leading a high-speed chase, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard. The woman barely survived and is still hospitalized.
Hearn is charged with eight felony counts, including carjacking and assault with intent to murder – life offenses – for allegedly carjacking the mom on Tuesday in Orion Township. Hearn was arraigned on Friday in the 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills.
In the previous charge, Hearn allegedly hog-tied a woman, duct taped and suffocated her with a plastic bag and threatened her with sexual assault, but Michigan’s justice system put him back on the street.
In a Wednesday news conference, Bouchard slammed Michigan's justice system for favoring criminals over victims and law-abiding citizens.
“He’s currently on probation for hog-tying a woman, duct taping her and suffocating her with a plastic bag over her head, and he’s back out on the street saying no harm, no foul. Is that how the justice system works for our victims?” Bouchard said at a press conference on Wednesday.
A 25-year-old man is facing multiple charges stemming from a carjacking and shooting in Orion Township.https://t.co/I24IYAI8LA
— Mid-Michigan NOW (@midmichigannow) May 22, 2026
Court records say that Washtenaw Circuit Judge Carol Kuhnke also placed Orando Whitfield, who is awaiting trial for a 2018 homicide, on a tether. Whitfield cut off that tether and is now a person of interest in the double homicide of Deandre Fizer III, 31, and his fiancée, Tonia Carter, 27, in Detroit.
How did this hard core violent criminal, who “hog-tied and tried to suffocate” one woman, get back out on the streets to shoot a different woman in Orion Township? https://t.co/dq3HPi4HKP
— MIDistrict9 (@MIDistrict9) May 22, 2026
WOW! A criminal allowed back on the street by Michigan Democrat AG nominee Eli Savit shot a woman in front of her son in Oakland County.
— Michigan Forward (@MIForward_Net) May 21, 2026
Soros-backed prosecutors like Savit are making are communities less safe. pic.twitter.com/Wg5fWnc4wc
Kind of a longer watch, but a number of people wanted more details about the carjacking and shooting in Orion Twp. https://t.co/TcxAuxYePP
— Oakland County Sheriff’s Office (@oaklandsheriff) May 21, 2026
Oakland County Sheriff Bouchard called on prosecutors and judges to hold violent offenders accountable for their actions.
“Everyone rightly demands accountability and transparency from law enforcement, but police officers are only one part of the criminal justice system,” Bouchard said in a news release. “Prosecutors and judges also make decisions that have very real consequences for public safety, and when those decisions repeatedly put violent offenders back on the street, the public deserves answers.”
Bouchard continued:
“The Orion Township shooting and carjacking suspect being placed on probation after such a serious offense is deeply troubling on its own. But when you look further and see a pattern of extraordinary decisions involving violent offenders, it raises even greater concern. In another case, a homicide suspect was released on tether, cut it off, fled, and was later tied to an additional double murder investigation. That should alarm every resident in this region.”
When judges and prosecutors seek lenient sentences for a pattern of violent crimes that endangers all Michiganders, Bouchard said.
“Public safety must come before ideology," Bouchard said. "Protecting law-abiding citizens from repeat violent offenders is a basic government responsibility. Reckless criminal justice policies have real victims, and it is time for greater accountability from every part of the system.”
