Oakland County prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old Farmington Hills man in last week’s attack on an 80-year-old man at a family fitness center.
According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, words were exchanged between the 20-year-old suspect and the victim at about 10:45 a.m. Friday, March 1, at the Farmington Family YMCA on Farmington Road.
“A witness then heard a physical altercation and went to see what was happening,” the prosecutor’s office said in a release. “The witness observed the victim, an 80-year-old man, slumped over the counter. It is alleged the defendant then slammed the victim’s head into the counter. The witness intervened and pulled the defendant away from the victim. The defendant then fled the YMCA but was located by law enforcement and taken into custody.”
The suspect, identified as Malik Ali Smith, fled the YMCA shirtless but was arrested after someone called police about a mile away to report someone hiding and acting suspicious. Police from multiple agencies use tracking dogs and a drone during the brief search.
Meanwhile, the victim was hospitalized and remained in critical condition this week, prosecutors said.
Smith was charged Saturday with assault with intent to murder, a potential life offense, and arraigned in the 47th District Court, ordered held on a $250,000 cash or surety bond with no 10 percent option by Magistrate Michael Sawicky.
Smith, held in the Oakland County Jail, is to return to court for a hearing on March 13.
“This was a vicious, senseless attack,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement. “I commend the witness who intervened, and we will seek justice for this victim.”