Detroit Teen Charged In Non-Fatal Shooting Of 2 Cops

DETROIT, MI — A 19-year-old Detroit man has been charged with multiple assault and firearms felonies in the non-fatal Easter Sunday shooting of two Detroit police officers investigating a home burglary on the city’s west side, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday. Juwan Alexander Plummer, 19, is accused of firing a shotgun on the officers from inside the house after they had knocked at the door of his mother’s home and were walking away.

Plummer was charged with two counts each of intentional discharge of a firearm in a building causing serious injury, a 20-year felony; intentional discharge of a firearm in a building causing injury, a 15-year felony and felonious assault, a four-year felony. He also is charged with four counts of felony firearm, which carries a two-year term to be served consecutively if he is convicted. He was arraigned Wednesday before 36th District Court Magistrate Charles Anderson, who set bond at $25,000/10 percent.

The two officers, both 25, were shot around 11:45 p.m. Sunday while responding to the burglary call on the 20500 block of Lesure Street. Detroit Police Chief James Craig previously said Plummer thought the officers were intruders and fired a shotgun to protect his family. One of the officers was treated and released from a hospital,but the more seriously injured of the two took two shotgun pellets to the face.

“This case is very unfortunate and could have been much worse,” Worthy said in a statement announcing the charges. “We simply cannot and will not ignore the alleged actions of the defendant in this case. The victims could well have been a neighbor, or a small child. The lives of these officers, who were doing their jobs, will never be the same and we must hold people accountable for their actions.”

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The two officers were the fifth and sixth Detroit police officers shot in the line of duty in seven months.

“This is a very strong reminder of what our police officers are doing every day in an attempt to keep our citizens safe,” Detroit Police Officer’s Association president Mark Diaz told WWJ. “Whether it was a result of an accident or whether it was deliberate, the reality is our police officers are on the front lines.”

Police officers are increasingly seeing themselves as targets, Diaz said.

“Morale in the law enforcement community has definitely taken a shot to the chin as of late,” he said. “But one thing is for certain, our police officers here in the city of Detroit are 100 percent dedicated to keeping our citizens safe, but we definitely need the community to embrace the law enforcement officers and aid us in keeping them safe.”

Plummer’s next court dates are a probable cause conference on April 16 and a preliminary examination on May 2, both before Judge Kenneth King in 36th District Court.

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