Man who allegedly hijacked ambulance found incompetent to stand trial

NOVI — Changlin Li, of Novi, the man who allegedly hijacked an ambulance last October, was declared to be incompetent to stand trial during a forensic review and competency hearing on Jan. 14 in 52-1 District Court.

Li is facing charges of carjacking, second-degree fleeing and eluding a police officer, two counts of resisting/obstructing a police officer, two counts of peace officer-disarming a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon for his alleged actions following a four-vehicle rollover collision on Oct. 25, 2025.

Li was involved in the crash at the intersection of Ten Mile and Novi roads. Then, in what sounds like something made for a movie, Li allegedly decided to take the ambulance on the scene for a spin, with an emergency medical technician and one of the other drivers, who was being treated for minor injuries, in the back.

Li allegedly drove the ambulance approximately 4 miles, with police in pursuit. The chase ended when he crashed into another vehicle after going through a red light, police said. The impact caused the ambulance to catch on fire.

Li then set off on foot and was apprehended a short distance away, according to Novi police.

“This clearly was a mental health issue,” Joseph Xuereb, Li’s attorney, told the Novi Note. “He is a 33-year-old man. I believe he has a master’s degree in engineering, no criminal record or contact with police ever, and uh, something happened that day.”

Xuereb said that Li’s friends were so concerned about his mental health that they had a wellness check conducted the day of the incident. According to Xuereb, Novi police officers conducted the check approximately two hours prior to the incident. He said that officers came to Li’s home and spoke with Li. 

“But something was going on that wasn’t caught and he had this mental health episode,” Xuereb said.

Li appeared in front of Judge David Law on Jan. 14 via video from the Oakland County Jail, where he is being held on a $5 million cash/surety bond.

His attorneys, Xuereb and Robert Mullen, were present in the courtroom, as was an interpreter to translate the proceedings from English to Mandarin Chinese and vice versa for Li.

During the hearing, Law considered the results of Li’s examination by the Center for Forensic Psychiatry.

“There is a stipulation to the report, and the finding of that report is that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial currently but likely to retain competence,” said Law.

“The court’s understanding is the defendant will remain in custody and receive psychiatric treatment with the hope of regaining competency, and Mr. Xureb, you’re going to look into some things and present them to the court when we return,” Law said.

“Will I go to forensic center?” Li asked his attorney.

“That is the hope, that they have a bed for you and that they will get you placement sooner rather than later,” Xuereb said. “I don’t know how backed up they are.”

Xuereb explained to Li that the first step is to generate an order and that an examination be done for the center to figure out where to place him.

“I will listen to my lawyers,” Li said through an interpreter. 

“Sounds like a good plan,” Law said.

“It’s pretty straightforward; he was found incompetent but restorable by MDHHS (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services), and both the prosecutors and the defence stipulated with that finding,” said Jeff Wattrick, Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office public information officer. “So, everything is kind of on hold, and then in 30 days will be another hearing to review where his status is.”

Wattrick said that it is rare for a person to be found incompetent. 

“I don’t know if we have any hard data on it, but obviously it’s a case by case situation,” he said.

“I would think, just eyeballing it, but anecdotally it’s not something I see every day,” Wattrick said. 

 Li is scheduled for a review hearing on Feb. 18 and then a probable cause hearing on April 15.