A 29-year-old Waterford Township man is facing eight criminal charges after last Thursday's encounter allegedly ended with a knife, a homemade ghost gun and a pistol equipped with an extended magazine being seized. Prosecutors say the case began with allegations that he assaulted his mother and later fled from police. The charges put a local domestic-violence call at the center of a wider weapons case.
Brandon Tyler Neil remains held in the Oakland County Jail on a $75,000 bond, as reported by The Oakland Press. The counts include felonious assault, assaulting a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person, and three counts of felony firearm.
Neil’s probable cause conference is scheduled for August 11, followed by a preliminary examination on August 18, at the 51st District Court. Prosecutors say Neil had failed to appear in that court for a separate domestic-violence case before the latest incident.
According to The Oakland Press, Waterford police approached Neil on July 30 after his mother told officers that he had assaulted her and pointed a gun at her. Prosecutors say he ran from officers, was apprehended with a knife, a pistol and an unserialized homemade firearm, and had additional weapons found at his home.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the defendant allegedly assembled a small arsenal of dangerous weapons while apparently in crisis. Authorities also reported finding a notebook at the home containing a threatening entry, though the charging allegations have not been tested at trial.
What The Weapons Charges Could Mean
Michigan State Police says the state’s prohibited-person law bars certain people with qualifying prior convictions, including some domestic-violence misdemeanors, from possessing firearms or ammunition; a violation can carry up to five years in prison. Michigan’s felony-firearm statute also provides that a prison term for that offense is served before and consecutively to the sentence for the underlying felony, if there is a conviction.
Neil’s scheduled hearings will determine whether prosecutors can move the case forward toward trial. The charges are allegations, and Neil is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
