As we reported yesterday, James and Jennifer Crumbley — the parents of Ethan Crumbley, the suspected shooter at Oxford High School in Michigan who opened fire at the school, gunning down four and injuring seven students — were officially charged with involuntary manslaughter due to their connection to their son’s heinous, fatal crime.
Within hours, it was reported that the couple was allegedly “missing” and the subject of a “manhunt” to apprehend and arrest them on their charges.
This morning, the Crumbley parents were arraigned, after finally being arrested overnight as fugitives from the law.
The entire Crubley arraignment was streamed on Zoom.
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During the court arraignment, the attorney representing the parents of the Oxford High shooter attempted to argue that the couple was taking steps to turn themselves into authorities when they were arrested — however, the attorney’s argument directly contradicts the factual statements made by both law enforcement and prosecutors.
Judge Julie Nicholson presided over the case and heard arguments from both the prosecutors and the defense — as Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald requested that bail be set at $500,000 per each defendant, while the Crumbley’s Defense Attorney Shannon Smith asked that it be set much lower for her clients, between $50,000 and $100,000.
Ultimately, the defense failed to convince the Honorable Judge Nicholson to grant the lower bond, with the judge leaving the bail set at $500,000 per defendant and ordered that, should they make bail, both of the defendants’ weapons are to be seized upon their release.
The $500,000 bail did not include a 10 percent cash alternative.
“As it relates to the in the event that the defendants do post bond, I am requiring that they turn over any and all weapons to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office,” Judge Nicholson stated during the Zoom arraignment, as the Crumbleys and respective attorneys watched on. “That must occur within — Realistically, I’m not sure what they have in their possession, or if they’re going to be able to be, where they’re going to be released to if they post bond, but I am going to require that they turn over all weapons upon release from the Oakland County Jail.”
“These charges are very, very serious, there’s no question about that,” said Judge Julie Nicholson of 52-3 District Court added, according to reporting from the Detroit Free Press. “The court does have some concern about the flight risk along with the public safety given the circumstances that occurred yesterday and the fact that the defendants did have to be apprehended in order to appear for purposes of arraignment.”
Both James and Jennifer seemed somewhat shell-shocked by the judge’s ruling, with Mediaite noting that “Neither defendant was very animated as the judge made the ruling, but each of them periodically lowered their heads as the bail was set. Mrs. Crumbley placed her fingers over her mouth repeatedly.”
The Crumbleys have been the center of media attention this week, not just for their connection to their son Ethan, but their apparent devotion to ex-President Donald Trump as well. We recently reported that Jennifer Crumbley once penned a fawning open letter on social media to the now-former Commander-in-Chief, thanking him for her right to bear arms. James shared his wife’s social media post with a caption that seemed to express his agreeance with her statements.
In addition to their connection to their son’s heinous, deadly crime, we reported yesterday that the Crumbleys are no strangers to prior legal troubles — with both of them receiving DUI charges in the past, James being the subject of child support charges, and Jennifer experiencing run-ins with the law over fraudulent checks.
You can watch the clip of the Crumbleys’ Zoom arraignment here:
Featured image via screen capture
