Kalamazoo: Jason Dalton bound over to trial following wild outburst in court (Video)

KALAMAZOO, MI — Jason Dalton will stand trial for the Kalamazoo shooting spree that left six dead and two seriously injured.

Jason Dalton, 45, of Cooper Township, appeared in court for a preliminary examination today, where Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting presented testimony and evidence against him.

Kalamazoo County District Judge Christopher Haenicke’s ruling came Friday afternoon after a day of testimony marred by two outbursts from Dalton that left victim Tiana Carruthers sobbing on the witness stand as Dalton, in shackles, was hauled out of the courtroom by Kalamazoo County sheriff’s deputies.

About 15 minutes into the preliminary examination of the 16 charges against the former Uber driver accused of committing the killings between fares for the ride service, Dalton began speaking over Carruthers’ testimony. After he was admonished by Haenicke to only whisper to his attorney, Dalton yelled and tried to stand up suddenly. He was wrestled away and the hearing was adjourned for about two hours.

When testimony resumed Friday afternoon, Dalton was not in the courtroom. He watched the proceedings from the Kalamazoo County Jail on a two-way video link. For most of the afternoon, two deputies stood on either side of Dalton, their hands on his shoulder to restrain him.

Haenicke heard testimony from Carruthers, who said she shouted for children around her to run when she saw Dalton with a gun as she walked in her apartment complex in Richland Township.

“Every single day I hurt,” Carruthers said.

There was testimony from Michigan State Police Trooper Cody Donnay, who said he found the mortally wounded Barbara Hawthorne conscious and alert in the back seat of a car at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Texas Township. Hawthorne’s phone was still connected on a 911 call, and she was able to describe for Donnay where she’d been shot. Donnay kept pressure on her wounds until an ambulance arrived and she was taken to a Kalamazoo hospital, where she died that night.

Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Scott Brooks said he found Abigail Kopf, 14, of Battle Creek slumped on the floor on the front passenger side of the same vehicle. She’d been shot in the head, Brooks said, and had lost a lot of blood. He and another officer tried to help Abigail, wrapping her badly injured head. Abigail is recovering from recent surgery to replace the portion of her skull that was shattered by the bullet.

Alexis Cornish, 17, of Mattawan testified she saw a man approach and then shoot her boyfriend, Tyler Smith, 17, and his father, Richard Smith, at the Seelye Kia dealership on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo that night. Cornish said she waited until the man left and then retrieved Tyler’s cell phone to call 911.

Dalton is charged with six counts of open murder and two counts of assault with intent to murder and weapons violations in the shootings, which included the death of three Battle Creek women — Mary Jo Nye, 60, Hawthorne, 68, and Judy Brown, 74 — and the wounding of Abigail and Carruthers. Mary Lou Nye of Baroda and Richard Smith and his son Tyler, both of Mattawan, also were killed.

Agencies/Canadajournal