Royal Oak

Teenage girl thwarts potential abduction

By Chris Jackett
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Wallin Wallin

Good instincts and quick thinking saved a teenage girl from potentially being abducted Oct. 6.

A 14-year-old resident was walking alone near Normandy and Tonawanda, north of Woodward and 13 Mile, at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday when a silver Chevrolet Camaro pulled alongside her and the 24-year-old man behind the wheel asked if she wanted a ride and some marijuana, police said.

The girl declined and continued walking home while also calling her mother to report the incident. Shortly after, the suspect approached the girl from behind, picked her up and fondled her, police said. The girl struggled and began screaming into the phone for her mother to call police. The suspect eventually dropped her and ran back to his vehicle, police said.

“The victim in this case did everything right by being aware of her surroundings and making a phone call,” Royal Oak Police Lt. Tom Goad said. “We were able to effectively get a dangerous individual off the streets.”

Police were already nearby and had seen the Camaro parked suspiciously when the suspect ran up to it, jumped in and sped away north on Woodward, losing police with some speedy, reckless driving tactics, police said. Police had logged the license plate number when it was parked, so they were able to track it to a Bloomfield Hills residence.

“The officers were on patrol and it was parked sort of on an angle, almost blocking a crosswalk. It just drew their attention,” Goad said. “They were checking the area and observed the suspect running.”

Royal Oak and Bloomfield Hills officers responded to the house and identified the suspect as Bloomfield Hills resident Derek Joseph Wallin.

Wallin was arrested and arraigned Oct. 8 in Royal Oak’s 44th District Court by Judge Terrence Brennan. He faces one charge of attempted kidnapping (a five-year felony) and one charge of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree (a two-year misdemeanor). The maximum potential penalty would be seven years in prison.

A $100,000 bond was set with no 10 percent surety and had not been posted as of 1 p.m. Oct. 9, Goad said.

Goad said an Oct. 12 pretrial conference was scheduled, but he did not have a name for Wallin’s defense attorney. Deputy court administrator Lori Maurice of the 44th District Court also did not immediately return a call seeking the name.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Chris Jackett at cjackett@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1110.