Raymond March
The 21-year-old Belleville man accused of helping abduct a 25-year-old Ypsilanti woman earlier this month waived his preliminary hearing in the 14A-1 District Court Tuesday.
Raymond March's case was subsequently bound over to circuit court.
March appeared briefly in court for the hearing where he only spoke in the affirmative when Judge Joseph Burke asked if he understood the proceedings. The victim, Farrah Cook, also was in the courtroom, but left before the hearing was concluded. She could have been called on to testify had March not waived the preliminary examination.
March is charged with unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment and interfering with the reporting of a crime and aggravated assault for his alleged involvement in Cook's abduction.
Police say March and Cook's ex-boyfriend Jeremy Abston, 27, forced Cook into a car in the parking lot of an Ypsilanti apartment complex on May 6. Cook eventually broke free of her captors that same day at a different apartment complex in Ypsilanti Township and suffered a sprained ankle.
March was arrested at an Inkster home by members of the Ypsilanti Police Department and the 2nd District Fugitive Team.
Courtesy of YPD
"We don't believe he's in the area," Yuhas said, but police don't think he's fled the state.
Abston faces charges of unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment, interfering with the reporting of a crime, assault with a dangerous weapon, larceny in a building, three charges of interfering with electronic communications, aggravated domestic violence, assault and battery and malicious destruction of property worth less than $200, according to court records.
Police remain in contact with Abston's family members, who have been cooperating in the search.
March continues to be held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $250,00 cash bond, jail records indicate. He is set to appear before Judge Archie Brown in circuit court for a pretrial hearing on June 13.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Abston is encouraged to call the Ypsilanti Police Department at 734-483-9510 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.