Defendant says he “blacked out”, and was not in his right mind
28-year-old Robert James Lewis of Ypsilanti Township was arraigned last week Thursday in the 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor, MI. In an unfortunate series of events, Lewis went from breaking into a house, to stealing and crashing a police car, all in about an hour. He is now facing eight felony charges and two misdemeanor charges. To complicate things further, he doesn’t remember a thing!
Apparently Lewis attempted to break into a house in the 800 block of George Place in Ypsilanti Township at around 9:15 am last week on Tuesday. Police say he had a crowbar with him, and his intention had been to assault a man who was inside the building.
Police were called, but Lewis fled in a vehicle before they arrived. However, the deputy who responded arrived in the neighborhood and pulled Lewis over because his vehicle matched the description given on the police radio. Lewis was arrested and placed in police custody in the back of the officer’s car.
Somehow, while the officer was out of the car investigating the incident, Lewis kicked through the partition that divides the back seat from the front seat, and then took off at high speed with the lights and sirens both turned on.
However, less than a mile away, Lewis crashed the police car into a utility pole and then fled on foot, abandoning the vehicle. He apparently ran to the nearby Anderson Villas apartment complex where someone followed him and called the police. Officers responded quickly and Lewis was arrested once again, this time without incident.
While in court, Lewis told the judge, Magistrate Elisha Fink, that he had no memory of the events that occurred on Tuesday morning. “I was not in my right mind. I would never in my right mind steal a police car”, he said, “I was totally intoxicated. I was completely intoxicated to the point I blacked out.” Lewis also pleaded with the judge for a reduced bond so that he could post bail and return to work for his father’s landscaping company. The judge refused, setting the bond at $80,000 cash.
Lewis has been charged with first-degree attempted home invasion, third-degree attempted home invasion, unlawful driving away in a vehicle, third-degree fleeing and eluding, malicious destruction of police property, two counts of resisting arrest, two counts of failing to report an accident and failing to register as a sex offender.
The date for the preliminary examination has been set for May 8. If convicted, Lewis may face many years in prison and possibly substantial fines as well.