Police: Escaped Eastpointe suspect was hiding under clothes in mom's car during traffic stop
EASTPOINTE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Devonta Moore, a high school senior, escaped from police Monday night and was on the run for three days.
He fled from Eastpointe police officers as they were transporting him to the Macomb County Jail on assault charges, for beating his little 8-year-old brother.
Moore ran off from cops, in handcuffs and flip-flops, into the night. On Friday he was back in court – cuffed up again.
Eastpointe detectives had been working to track him and their investigation led to his mom, 46-year-old Tamika Shepherd, who allegedly has been helping him on the run – taking him to Mt. Pleasant.
"Judge I don't think anybody here really wants to punish him or harm him, I think the courts and the justice system should work on helping him work through this patch in his life," said Chris Metry, Moore's defense attorney.
Shepherd is now charged with accessory after the fact – and his girlfriend, Lashaun White, is charged with the same. The trio was pulled over near Brighton – Thursday evening Moore was allegedly hiding under clothes in the back of her car.
Devonta Moore, Tamika Shepherd, Lashaun White.
"My understanding is she was turning this young man in, a fugitive from justice, which to me, is assisting the government not hindering the government," claimed Shepherd's attorney, Michael L. Steinberg.
The judge didn’t buy it, setting Shepherd’s bond at $50,000 cash. She’s facing life in prison for being a habitual offender, all of her prior felonies for fraud.
Moore has run from police three times before this and was convicted of burglary and weapons charges.
"He's got a lot of stuff in Eastpointe judge, and he is aware of that, and we've talked about this," Metry said. "He has to deal with this, he has a child judge. He has to deal with this because he's got a 3-year-old son."
His defense went on to claim Moore he was in talks with two universities to play football, there - but those dreams are dwindling.
"We set dates for him and he doesn't show up," Judge William Crouchman said. "Then when he finally does show up, he tries to escape. The only way I'm going to ensure that he comes to court, is to set a $100,000 cash surety bond."
There is an internal police investigation into what happened during that original prisoner transport, to find out how to keep this from happening again.
