DETROIT – An inmate who is charged with escaping after attacking a Wayne County deputy will undergo a psychological evaluation.
Abraham Pearson allegedly attacked Deputy Harrison Tolliver with a sharpened comb on Sept. 9 as he was being escorted in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice to face sentencing for carjacking and armed robbery.
Pearson was back in court Monday surrounded by sheriff's deputies and wearing a red jumpsuit. His attorney says Pearson was "non responsive" when the two met before court.
"He was responsive to questions in that he answered them, the answers were not really responsive to the questions and he didn't know anything about this, "said attorney James Howarth.
In court the judge delayed today's preliminary hearing where five witnesses were set to testify and ordered that Pearson undergo a psychiatric exam and he also set a competency hearing.
"As a total lay person the plan was crazy, I don't mean that makes it a psychiatric defense, but it certainly wasn't well planned, it happened to work which is sad that the deputy was injured," said Howarth.
Pearson faces 11 new charges, including assault with intent to murder.
He is also accused of carjacking a woman during his escape, which led to a day-long manhunt for him by police. He was arrested after a witness spotted him on the city's east side later that night.
Tolliver, 63, was treated for puncture wounds to his neck.
Pearson is being held in the psychiatric ward of the Wayne County Jail. His sentencing for his original carjacking case has been rescheduled for Oct. 7.