The 18-year-old man accused of robbing a drug dealer in Saline in July 2011 will face trial this month after skipping out on bond and delaying the case for nearly a year.
James Brewer is charged with armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and conspiracy to commit assault with assault with a dangerous weapon. The charges stem from a July 26, 2011, incident where Brewer and a group of people allegedly robbed a drug dealer of marijuana.
The case has dragged on into 2013 after Brewer didn’t show up for an April 5, 2012, court hearing. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he didn’t show up again in court until Feb. 14, court records show.
Brewer had been free on a 10 percent of $75,000 bond at the time he didn’t show up for the final pretrial hearing. His trial was scheduled to begin on April 23, 2012, according to court records.
Brewer was arrested and arraigned on the bench warrant on Feb. 14 and lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail on a $150,000 cash or surety bond. He appeared in court on Thursday and a new final pretrial date was set for 1:30 p.m. Thursday. His trial is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. May 13 in front of Washtenaw County trial Court Judge David Swartz.
Brewer is accused of working with Emily Beach to rob a drug dealer at the Six Trails Apartment Complex in Saline. According to police, Beach called the dealer to set up a drug deal.
When the man went outside to wait for Beach, four men approached him, one of whom punched him in the head, according to police. One man pointed a gun at the dealer, his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s mother while another man searched through the dealer’s pockets.
At a preliminary exam in the case, witnesses testified Brewer was not the man with the gun.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.