The man accused of robbing an Ypsilanti Township TCF Bank will return to court in May for a hearing to determine if he is competent enough to stand trial.
John Sawaya
Courtesy of WCSO
John Sawaya, 50, of Ypsilanti, was in court Tuesday morning for the first preliminary exam hearing in his case. According to court records, the exam was adjourned until 8:30 a.m. May 21 for a competency hearing.
Sawaya is charged with armed robbery and bank robbery for the March 16 incident at the TCF Bank, 2150 Packard Road. According to deputies, Sawaya went to the bank and implied he had a weapon before leaving with cash.
He was arrested the next day after an Ypsilanti police officer recognized him from surveillance photos released by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. Some of the money that was reportedly stolen was recovered during the arrest.
Sawaya was on parole for a 2003 conviction for four bank robberies at the time of his arrest. He served just under 10 years for the convictions and was released from prison in August 2010. Records show he was supposed to be released from parole in August 2013.
He remains lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail as of Wednesday. Bond information was not available from jail records.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.