Woman carjacked in Dearborn by 18-year-old suspect because he was 'sick of walking'

DEARBORN, Mich (FOX 2) - A 72-year-old woman was carjacked at gunpoint in Dearborn - by an 18-year-old.

She is physically ok – but says this changes her entire life, she’s always watching her back now.

The suspect, Isaiah Marcellus Jones, would later tell police he was "sick of walking" and decided to carjack the elderly woman.

"I thank God that I'm alive," says the woman, who we'll call "Deborah."

She was carjacked after the man, who was hiding from behind a trashcan, ambushed her at an ATM.

"It was very scary, very traumatic," she said. "I just got so nervous, the most nervous I've ever been in my life."

A Friday morning trip to Zeal Credit Union on Michigan Avenue ended with a gun in her face.

"He had the gun in his hand and first thing he said, give me your keys and I said 'Please don't hurt me. Please don't shoot me,'" she said.

He demanded her car keys, and purse - then wouldn’t let her grab her cell phone.

Police say Jones drove off leaving "Deborah" stranded, to walk a half-mile to the only store open - for help.

"My purse can be replaced, but my life cannot be replaced," she said.

Dearborn police quickly zeroed in on Jones. They surveilled him, then moved in for the arrest in Southfield the same day.

Officers recovered the gun he allegedly used to terrorized Deborah, too, said Police Chief Issa Shahin.

"People who prey on the vulnerable and prey on the elderly and children - I agree with you, Jessica, they're dangerous," Shahin said. "And we need to make sure and protect our community and our officers from those individuals."

Jones was arraigned Sunday – given a $50,000 personal bond by 36th District Magistrate Malaika Ramsey-Heath. This meant he wouldn’t have to put any money up to get out of custody.  

"A personal bond for a violent offense like this is extremely rare and it's out of the ordinary," Shahin said.

Dearborn police are extremely concerned and confused by that decision – given the allegations.

"It's a capital offense, the penalties in the state of our life imprisonment," Shahin said.

Dearborn’s Chief Judge Sam Salamey held an emegrency hearing Monday before Jones was let out, changing his bond to $50,000 cash. He remains in custody.

It provided some comfort for Deborah who says her life is just different now.

"I'm terrified now, I am paranoid," she said. "I look around everywhere I go now."

Magistrate Ramsey-Heath has made headlines for a similar low bond situation back in 2022 for a shooting. The chief judge, at 36th District Court, William C. McConico, had no comment on the carjacking, the case, or the low bond that was set.

Isaiah Marcellus Jones