Man arraigned for allegedly sexually assaulting woman in Shelby Township Walmart

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Shelby Township police were able to locate a sexual assault suspect using the FLOCK camera system in Shelby Township Oct. 23.

Officers responded to Walmart at 51450 Shelby Parkway for a man who had sexually assaulted a woman while she was shopping. Prior to police arrival, the woman saw the man exit the store soon after her and leave the parking lot in a silver Jeep Patriot.

The Special Investigations Unit was quick to develop a suspect, Kirk Rogers, after detectives researched Rogers and found that he has had multiple arrests for criminal sexual conduct, according to a press release posted to crimewatch.net. He was arraigned Oct. 29 in 41A District Court in front of Magistrate James A. VerPloeg on a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Rogers was given a $500 bond and the bond was posted.

Shelby Township Police Chief Robert J. Shelide said in the press release that he thanks officers and the detective bureau for their quick work.

“I am pleased that Shelby Township Police was able to get this vile human off the streets before he could offend again. This is a person that has been investigated and arrested multiple times for assaulting young women and must be prevented from doing so again so the residents of Shelby Township can feel safe and protected from this type of monster,” he said.

William Barnwell, of Barnwell Law PLLC, Rogers’ attorney, said the case has since been reduced.

“The case was initially overcharged and has been amended to a fourth-degree case, which is a high misdemeanor. With this remaining allegation, my client looks forward to having his day in court,” he said.

As of Nov. 20, the court’s online records still showed the second-degree charge.

Sgt. Kevin Bailey, of the Community Service Unit at the Shelby Township Police Department, said the victim was able to get a good look at the suspect and was able to get a good description of the vehicle and license plate.

“Without that information this case would have been a lot harder for the officer and detectives to solve. I again want to applaud the hard work of our officers and detectives working hard to get this disgusting human off the streets. The last thing we want is for him to pray on more young women,” he said.

Rogers is scheduled for a preliminary examination at 2 p.m. Dec. 17.