Saginaw Valley State University DaJuawn Wallace, 24, was driving to a store to pick up medicine for his girlfriend at 2am when a cop driving behind him activated his lights and sirens. Wallace stuck his arm out the window of his car to acknowledge the officer then drove a short distance at 35 mph and pulled over in a well lit area.
“I live in Detroit, and I know some people who were robbed by fake police officers,” Wallace said. “I was taught to find a well-lit area to pullover in.”
“I was not speeding up, turning off my lights or trying to get away,” he added.
He was charged with one felony count of fleeing and eluding.
At a June 12 hearing, Saginaw County Chief Prosecutor Christopher Boyd offered to dismiss the felony charge if Wallace would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge with a delayed sentence. The plea would allow Wallace’s charges to be dismissed if he stays out of trouble and completes one year of probation.
But Wallace rejected the offer, pointing out that a guilty plea would have a negative impact on his future.
His has until July 9 to accept the deal.
If he hadn't been charged, Wallace would have graduated from a master’s program for health administration next year.
