A 38-year-old Saginaw man faces 14 felony charges after prosecutors say he walked from the county jail to a 911 dispatch parking lot, stole a Ford F-150 pickup and the loaded handgun inside it, then drove to a mobile home park and opened fire on two homes.
Marcus C. Johnson was arraigned June 12 before Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark on charges including discharging a firearm in or at a building causing injury, felon in possession of a firearm, larceny of a firearm, and seven counts of felony firearm. Clark set a cash-surety bond of $330,000.
"It is clear that abiding by the laws of this state ranks low on the totem pole for this defendant," prosecutors wrote in a bond recommendation, according to MLive.
The Night of the Shooting
Prosecutors allege Johnson was released from the Saginaw County Jail at 311 S. Harrison St. on the night of June 9 or early morning of June 10. He had been jailed after an arraignment on a misdemeanor retail fraud charge for allegedly shoplifting beer from a Marathon station in Kochville Township.
According to court filings, Johnson walked approximately 500 feet to the Saginaw County Central Dispatch parking lot at 618 Cass St. Surveillance cameras recorded him stealing the pickup truck, which belonged to a 911 employee, MLive reported.
Johnson found a loaded 9 mm handgun in the truck. He then drove to Lawndale Estates in Saginaw Township, prosecutors said.
About 1 a.m. on June 10, Johnson fired multiple rounds into two residences on Country Way West, according to ABC12 and MLive. Prosecutors allege he attempted to coax residents to the door before firing. At least one witness heard someone shout, "Come out! Hello, is anyone there?"
A Man Shot. Five Children Unharmed.
One of the homes contained five children. None were injured.
Inside the second home, a 71-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his leg. Saginaw Township police treated him at the scene until he could be transported to an area hospital for treatment of his non-life-threatening wound, according to MLive.
Saginaw Township police responded to the 4500 block of Country Way West after a caller reported hearing five or six gunshots followed by a man screaming. Officers found Johnson standing in a yard near the stolen truck. They recovered the 9 mm handgun from inside the vehicle and found spent shell casings at the scene.
"At this time, the incident appears to be random act and there is no indication that the two males involved knew each other," Saginaw Township Police Chief Scott A. Malace said, according to MLive.
A Pattern of Violence at the Park
The shooting at Lawndale Estates came just six days after another violent incident at the same mobile home park. On the evening of June 4, Brandon M. Armstrong, 33, was stabbed multiple times outside a residence at 4560 Ashwood Drive West. Armstrong died at the scene, MLive reported.
Police later arrested Kevin D. Keaner, 50, and charged him with open murder and tampering with evidence. The two residences involved in the stabbing and the shooting are about 0.2 miles apart, roughly a four-minute walk.
Johnson's Criminal Record
Johnson has at least 10 convictions dating back to 2009, according to MLive. His record has resulted in jail time and probation but no prison sentences.
In April, Johnson was sentenced to two years of probation for malicious destruction of property between $200 and $1,000.
Defense attorney James Williams told the court he is concerned about Johnson's mental health. During the Zoom arraignment, Johnson appeared to be rambling and repeatedly stuck out and wagged his tongue, according to MLive.
Clark shared Williams' concerns about Johnson's mental state but set the high bond, citing prosecutors' argument that Johnson is a flight risk and a danger to the public.
A preliminary examination is scheduled for June 29.
The first charge against Johnson, discharging a firearm in or at a building causing injury, carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A felony firearm conviction mandates a minimum two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other term, under Michigan law.