Detroit teen charged in adult court over police pursuit death of Madison Heights man
A Detroit teen has been charged as an adult with second-degree murder and other charges after a fatal traffic crash during a police pursuit.
Daniel Shane Canales, 16, of Detroit, had an arraignment hearing Thursday at 41B District Court in Clinton Township. Those attending included more than two dozen family and friends of Alex Basim Habib, 28, of Madison Heights, who was killed in Saturday's crash.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said his office decided to charge Canales as an adult "after carefully examining all the available evidence including the severity of the allegations."
The pending charges and possible penalties, all felonies, are:
- Second-degree murder (potential life sentence).
- First-degree fleeing a police officer (potential 15-year prison sentence).
- Operating a vehicle under a suspended, revoked or denied license (potential 15-year prison sentence).
- Third-degree fleeing a police officer (potential five-year prison sentence).
- Unlawful driving away in a motor vehicle (potential five-year prison sentence).
Magistrate Ryan Zemke has withheld bond. The teen will continue to be held at the Juvenile Justice Center in Mt. Clemens.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for July 28 in 41B District Court. A preliminary exam is expected to take place in early August.
The circumstances that led to the charges involved a police pursuit that started in Roseville and ended in Warren, near the area of 11 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue. The suspect was driving a stolen car, Lucido said, and eventually struck another vehicle that Habib was driving.
He died at the hospital.
Habib's obituary names his wife and two children, along with many extended family members, as surviving relatives. Visiting hours are scheduled for Sunday, with funeral services and celebration of life scheduled for Monday. Edward Swanson & Son Funeral Home in Madison Heights is handling arrangements.
In the meantime, Lucido has already called on Michigan lawmakers to support legislation meant to address what he called an increasing trend of drivers who refuse to stop for a law enforcement officer.
The Michigan House is considering a bill that would impose tougher penalties on those who refuse to stop for police.
