Detroit man charged in Samantha Woll murder has criminal background

FOX 2 (WJBK) - The Detroit man charged in the murder of prominent Jewish leader Samantha Woll on Wednesday has a criminal history. And police say it was the way he answered questions in regards to car break-ins around the Woll's neighborhood - that put him on their radar.

Michael Manuel Jackson-Bolanos was charged in the home invasion and murder of Woll, found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home on Oct. 21, announced Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. She said there is no evidence that they knew each other.

Bolanos is facing charges of homicide, felony murder, breaking and entering, and lying to a peace officer. Worthy said the lying charge came from officers asking him whether he committed larceny or attempted larceny from motor vehicles that had happened in the same neighborhood.

"There are no facts to suggest that this defendant knew Miss Woll, and there are certainly no facts to suggest that this was a hate crime," she said.

Worthy refused to talk about the suspect's criminal history: "Of the suspect? Absolutely not. I cannot."

According to a records search with the Michigan Department of Corrections, Bolanos has two previous prison sentences for stolen property receiving and concealing motor vehicle.

The first time he was convicted 2014 and after a plea served from 2014 to 2018. He was convicted again after a plea in 2019 and was discharged in August of 2021.

"We have rules that we must abide by to protect the defendant's rights," Worthy said. "And one of the things we cannot do is in that regard as mentioned, is say if there is any kind of past history with the criminal justice system."

Detroit Police Chief James White said that Bolanos first emerged as a suspect a few weeks ago that investigators were curious about. They then linked him to a number of larcenies in the area, of the 1360 block of Joliet Place in Detroit where Woll lived, and then was brought in for questions.

"We kept him on our radar, he timed out, we released him, we did not have enough (evidence) to submit to the prosecutor's office," White said.

Related: Samantha Woll murder investigation: Detroit man charged in Jewish leader's death

Once he was released, White said DPD kept watching him until it had enough to make the arrest.

"We knew where he was, we knew his whereabouts, we knew his movements, at no time was anyone in our community at risk," the chief said. "We knew where he worked. We knew his phone traffic. We knew a number of things about him.

"Once we received the information that necessitated an arrest or precipitated arrest. We moved in within an hour and got him into custody without incident."

White said that there was "something about what transpired in our conversations" with Bolanos that led police down the same path for investigation.

Worthy added that Bolanos is not the same suspect that was arrested in November.