Detroit Area Walmart Shoplifter Tries Stabbing Officer With Screwdriver: Police

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI — A man is facing charges after attacking a police officer at a Macomb County Walmart store last weekend, according to prosecutors.

Joshua Mills, 32, Eastpointe, was charged with one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder (10-year felony), two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer (2-year felony) and once count of second-degree retail fraud (1-year misdemeanor).

He was placed in jail and given a $500,000 bond. If he posts bond, he must wear a GPS tether. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Prosecutors said the incident happened last Sunday at a Walmart store located on Van Dyke in Sterling Heights. They said Mills walked out of the store without paying for merchandise.

When officers approached him, prosecutors said Mills ran and an officer used taser, striking Mills and sending him to the ground.

An officer then tried arresting Mills, but he quickly sat up and tried stabbing the officer in the face with a screwdriver, narrowly missing the officer, prosecutors said.

Officers were able to eventually put handcuffs onto Mills, prosecutors said.

"This kind of blatant disrespect for law enforcement will not be tolerated. When an officer is carrying out a lawful arrest and is met with violence, it strikes at the heart of public safety. The defendant’s decision to allegedly turn a routine misdemeanor arrest into a life-threatening confrontation is unacceptable, and our office will pursue this case to the fullest extent of the law," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said.