Rashad Trice appears in federal court in Grand Rapids
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Rashad Trice, the 26-year-old man accused of the kidnap and murder of Wynter Cole Smith, a 2-year-old girl from Lansing, appeared before a judge in Grand Rapids Tuesday.
Trice appeared for a preliminary hearing and detention hearing.
Early on in the court proceedings on Tuesday, Trice waived his right to a detention hearing and will remain in jail while this case works its way through the legal process.
The preliminary hearing gave Magistrate Judge Ray Kent an overview of the case against Trice. Prosecutors outlined his alleged attack against Wynter's mother, her abduction, his journey to the Detroit area, and how Wynter was killed.
No cameras or cell phones were allowed in the federal courtroom, and no one in connection to the case agreed to be interviewed at the courthouse.
Trice arrived at the hearing handcuffed and in full shackles. Sharon Turek and Helen Nieuwenhuis represent him.
FBI Special Agent Christopher Rodolico, an agent based in Lansing who worked on Wynter's case, testified that Trice sustained injuries after a car crash with police and resisting arrest. Rodolico testified that Trice reached for an officer's gun while being apprehended.
Trice's hand was seen bandaged.
Prosecutors revealed a few text messages between Trice and his father on the night of the kidnapping. Trice's father texted him multiple times asking to help figure things out, but Trice responded, "I gotta finish this. I love y'all."
An hour before the police apprehended him, he texted, "She's gone."
In the next three weeks, a grand jury will convene in Grand Rapids to consider federal charges against Trice.
