The parents of the teen accused of killing four students and wounding seven people in this week’s Michigan high school shooting were arrested in a Detroit warehouse today following a lengthy search, and then pled not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges this morning.
A state judge in Michigan’s Oakland County set bond at $500,000 each for James and Jennifer Crumbley, who are the parents of the school shooter, Ethan Crumbley. The Crumbleys did not physically appear in court, but instead appeared for their arraignment today by video conference. Each said they understood each charge and pleaded “not guilty” to each charge.
During the arraignment, the Crumbleys’ lawyers claimed their clients had fully intended to turn themselves in before authorities arrested them Saturday morning, and denied prosecutors’ claim that their son had unfettered access to the gun he used to shoot his classmates on Tuesday.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged Friday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter over Tuesday’s shooting, and were supposed to attend an arraignment on December 1. But they missed that arraignment, setting off a police manhunt for them.
Today, police found the Crumbleys on the bottom floor of an industrial building in Detroit, 40 miles southeast of the Oxford area where they live — after someone tipped police Friday night that their automobile was nearby.
“They appeared to be hiding in the building,” Detroit Police Chief James White said during a news conference early Saturday. “This isn’t indicative of turning themselves in, hiding in a warehouse.” White said a person let the Crumbleys into the building, and that person could face charges as a result.
