DETROIT — A convict accused of fleeing a Detroit courthouse after stabbing an unarmed deputy and stealing his uniform faces a slew of additional charges that likely will put him behind bars for a long time, authorities said.
Abraham Pearson, 25, was captured Monday night following a daylong manhunt, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said.
Pearson, also known as Derreck White, was being escorted to the seventh floor of the courthouse to be sentenced for armed robbery, carjacking and other crimes. He attacked after his handcuffs were removed, using a sharpened plastic comb to repeatedly stab sheriff’s deputy Harrison Tolliver in the neck, Napoleon said.
“The part of the comb that he was stabbed with broke. It did not inflict any life-threatening injuries,” Napoleon said.
Pearson stole Tolliver’s uniform and ran from the courthouse, stopping only to force a woman from her minivan and drive the vehicle from the scene, police said. He abandoned the minivan blocks away from the courthouse, on the city’s east side.
Dozens of officers fanned out across Detroit to search for Pearson. He was discovered and returned to police custody Monday night, about 14 hours later. Pearson will face 11 additional charges related to his alleged attack and escape, Napoleon said.
“He’s looking at a considerable amount of time,” he said.
Patricia Banford, whose van was stolen during the escape, said the suspect threatened her.
“He snatched the door open and said, ‘Get out or I’ll kill you!”‘ Banford told TV station WDIV.
The sheriff, who oversees security at the courthouse, said he would prefer to have more than one deputy escorting inmates but that the county can’t afford it. Tolliver, 63, joined the sheriff’s department after retiring as a Detroit police officer.
“It’s a dangerous job,” Napoleon said. “We’re streamlined as much as we can.”
