A Ferndale man was ordered Thursday to stand trial on a charge of threatening to cut a woman’s throat with a box cutter.
Suspect Carl McCourt, 24, is charged with felonious assault in the incident, which police said involved a woman who was a roommate.
Ferndale police Capt. Casey O’Loughlin said the woman lived with McCourt in the 800 block of West Breckenridge but was not involved in a romantic relationship with him, according to a statement she made to police a day after the Jan. 29 incident.
“They got into an argument over her moving things,” O’Loughlin said. “She said he produced a box cutter and tried to cut her throat.”
Police said an argument had broken out while the woman was moving her belongings and the suspect apparently objected to her taking an item.
The woman finished moving her belongings and left, police said.
The next day she showed up at the Ferndale police department and made a report against the suspect, with whom she had lived since September 2023.
Investigators interviewed McCourt shortly after the woman reported he had threatened to cut her throat.
McCourt denied that he had threatened the woman with a boxcutter, police said.
“He said they just pushed each other,” O’Loughlin said.
However, police said they noticed when they talked to the suspect that he had an injury on his hand.
“He claimed he got the injury by moving a toaster,” O’Loughlin said. “She claimed the injury happened while he was armed with the box cutter.”
Ferndale police completed their investigation and submitted it to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s office for review.
Prosecutors issued a warrant charging McCourt with felonious assault in February. The suspect was notified of the charge and turned himself in to police on April 4.
McCourt was arraigned on the charge the same day in Ferndale 43rd District Court. He has no prior criminal history and was released on a $2,000 personal bond.
His bond conditions prohibit him from possessing or purchasing a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or having any contact with his accuser.
Following a preliminary examination Thursday, Ferndale 43rd District Judge Joseph Longo ordered McCourt to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The charge is punishable by up to four years in prison.
A date and time for McCourt’s arraignment in circuit court was still pending late Thursday afternoon.