Man Arrested In 'Horrific' Detroit EMT Stabbings Wanted By Police For 10 Years On Rape, Murder Charges
DETROIT (WWJ) - A man suspected of carrying out a horrific stabbing and slashing attack on two Detroit paramedics has been taken into custody -- and he's no stranger to law enforcement officials.
Police say 30-year-old Michael Montgomery was picked up by the Violent Crimes Task Force around 8 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Whitcomb and Fenkell. He was walking the street with the woman who was initially being treated by the paramedics before the early morning attack. She was also taken into custody.
"The message is clear they we will not tolerate such violence in our city," police said in a statement.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Montgomery has been wanted by police for nearly 10 years. On Wednesday, he's set to be arraigned on a laundry list of charges in connection with two cases, including first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and torture.
The first case dates back to January 1, 2006 with the death of a 16-year-old girl. It is alleged that Montgomery sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed the teen behind a building in the 19848 block of Joy Road.
The second case dates back to December 23, 2005. In that incident, Montgomery allegedly kidnapped, tortured and sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman in an alley in the 8600 block of Auburn.
In a strange twist of fate, Worthy said the warrants for Montgomery's arrest were actually signed before he was in custody for the stabbing, completely independent of the investigation into the attack.
At this time, Montgomery has not yet been charged in connection with the EMT assaults.
Paramedics Kelly Adams and Alfredo Rojas remain hospitalized in serious condition with wounds to their faces and hands. It's believed Montgomery used a box cutter in the attack.
"Their injuries are horrific," said Interim Fire Commissioner Eric Jones. "Both of the EMTs are going to require some extensive surgeries. The injuries — they came to within inches of dying."
The attack happened just after 12 a.m. Tuesday in a neighborhood just east of the Lodge Freeway along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Rojas and Adams had responded to the area to treat a woman with an ankle injury when Montgomery became "agitated" and attacked. Both paramedics were stabbed and slashed repeatedly before making it back to their vehicle and driving themselves to the hospital.
[RELATED: EMTs Terrified, Hesitant To Work After Stabbing Attack: 'No One's Life Is Worth $12 An Hour']
"I want to say how proud we are and how thankful we are for the swift action of the Detroit Police Department," said Jeff Gaglio, a steward from Detroit's paramedic and EMT union. "It means the world to the people on the street that come to work for EMS that this man was apprehended in a timely manner."
