by P.D. Lesko

On Sept. 19, Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, 47, of Flatrock, Michigan, was arraigned in 14A-1 District Court before Magistrate Elisha A. Fink. Smith was charged with one count of sexual assault, as well as two counts of domestic violence. His alleged victim is a 27-year-old woman who was evicted from SafeHouse Center in Pittsfield Twp. on August 31 for speaking to The Ann Arbor Independent for an article exposing unsafe, unsanitary conditions in the shelter, and negligence on the part of shelter management and staff. Through his public defender, Khadja Swims, Smith entered a plea of not guilty. Swims told the judge her client is “47-years-old, and never been arrested or convicted of any crime.” She went on to say Smith is “married with three children and basketball coach for the local high school.” Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Ashley Londy asked for a bond of $500,000 per charge. Fink, however, set Smith’s bond at $1 million for each of the three cases pending against him, cash surety. A surety bond in the case of making bail is the amount of money in cash or property.

A $3 million dollar bail bond would cost $300,000 to $450,000, which would be paid to a bail bondsman. That $300,000-$450,000 is non-refundable, even if the individual is found innocent or the case is dismissed. Without using a bail bondsman, Smith would need to come up with three million dollars in cash to secure his release.

In setting the $3 million cash surety bond, Fink said, “Even if one of these texts is from Mr. Smith, he’s an extremely dangerous person.” Fink added, “This is not a situation where I can take any chances. It’s about the information I’ve received. My job as the Magistrate is to set a bond that will protect the community.” Fink then explained that “the community” can be interpreted to be a single individual. Investigators say Smith sent his alleged victim threatening text messages and death threats while she was housed in SafeHouse Center, messages which the victim showed SafeHouse Center officials. In one of the messages, Smith allegedly told the victim he was going to go to SafeHouse with an AK-47 and kill everyone in the building. After the victim was “exited” by SafeHouse Executive Director Barbara Niess-May in retaliation for speaking the The Ann Arbor Independent, Smith allegedly stalked his victim via spyware installed on her smartphone, as well as obtaining information from her wireless phone provider.

A domestic violence advocate who has been working with this victim and others to obtain safe, secure shelter, described the messages, which she had seen, as “horrible.” The victim’s file from SafeHouse Center shows officials there were aware of the extreme lethality of the situation and of the text message threats. Nonetheless, on August 31 the victim was forced to leave, made homeless and without protection. County Administrator Greg Dill, who sits on the Board of SafeHouse Center, in response to pleas from a domestic violence advocate arranged for five, one-week vouchers for an out-of-county motel. Dill did not arrange for any security for the victims of domestic violence he housed, and as a result, Jeffrey Smith allegedly used the spyware to track his victim to that motel and another one.

The Enough Initiative–a 501(c)3 non-profit–has launched a Facebook fundraiser to raise funds to support the survivors evicted by SafeHouse Center. You can find more information about the fundraiser here: https://www.facebook.com/preventDV/fundraisers/

In speaking to The Ann Arbor Independent after she arrived at the motel Dill chose, Smith’s victim said, “I’m sleeping on the floor between the beds. That way, if someone opens the door, they won’t see me.”

During Smith’s arraignment, Judge Fink referenced a report from an Apple Store that confirmed the victim’s phone had been infected with tracking spyware.

Assistant County Prosecutor Londy read several of the text messages allegedly sent by Smith to the victim. The text messages threatened murder of both the victim and her mother, if, as Londy read, Smith “went down for this.” Londy also told Fink several of the messages threatened the victim with mutilation and additional sexual violence. Smith allegedly also tried to intimidate his victim by demanding she contact the investigating detective and retract her statements. Such demands can be viewed as witness intimidation, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and/or up to $5,000.00 in fines. As Londy read Smith’s alleged text messages Smith, who appeared via video feed from the County jail, shook his head, put his head in his hands, and became increasingly agitated.

During the hearing, Judge Fink cut off Smith’s public defender, Khadja Swims several times, once to point out that the evidence of text messages received by the victim had been handed over to her by the investigating detective, not the victim. Fink also said that when the detective had read to her over the phone Smith’s alleged text messages sent to the victim, the judge had found the texts so disturbing that she’d asked the detective to stop.

Smith, who told Judge Fink he has been employed for over two decades by Pollard Banknote, LTD, said his employer would “vouch for him.” Messages and emails to Pollard Banknote, LTD in Ypsilanti, went unanswered. Smith, who has addresses in both Flatrock and Romulus, said he was a basketball coach at the local high school. Neither the Athletic Director at Flatrock Community High School or Romulus Community High school could not confirm Smith’s statement.

Judge Fink, in setting a $3 million dollar cash surety bond, made a stark statement about County Prosecutor Eli Savit’s unpopular (among domestic violence advocates), controversial policy that requires those arrested and charged with domestic violence crimes to be released from custody without posting any bond. Judge Fink noted before Smith was arraigned, the “County Prosecutor is allowing DV (domestic violence) assailants to be released without bond.” Eli Savit was elected to office in 2020 with the endorsement of singer John Legend, but without ever having prosecuted a criminal case.

In January 2021, Ann Arbor became the first city in Michigan to do away with cash bail in all cases. According to Savit’s directive, cash bail “is a system under which a defendant who has been accused of a crime is required to post money in order to secure release from jail pending trial.” Savit said, “Under a cash bail system, poorer people — even those who are accused of relatively minor crimes — are forced to sit in jail for days, weeks, or years. At the same time, cash bail allows wealthier people who are accused of serious crimes to go free pending trial.”

Washtenaw County’s assistant prosecuting attorneys are no longer allowed to request cash bond and instead are instructed to make case-by-case assessments to determine the defendants’ flight risk and dangerousness in order to ensure public safety. Washington, D.C. and New Jersey have stopped seeking cash bail, as well as the city of San Francisco and counties in Vermont and Virginia. 

Savit’s policy means that the County’s judges are in the spotlight when it comes to ultimately determining whether defendants should have to post bail and how much. In June 2021 Judge Elisha A. Fink and Prosecutor Savit found themselves vilified nationally after setting bail for Ryan Le-Nguyen, 29, at just $10,000. Le-Nguyen was charged with assault with intent to murder after shooting his neighbor’s six-year son. Le-Nguyen shot the boy after he went to Le-Nguyen’s yard to retrieve his bike.

In response to the public outcry,  Savit’s office filed an emergency motion to have Le-Nguyen’s bond canceled.

On the same day, prior to her arraignment of Jeffrey Dwayne Smith and setting his cash bond at $3 million, Judge Fink released two other alleged domestic violence assailants on personal recognizance bonds. A personal recognizance bond is one where no money is posted; the defendant merely makes a promise to appear in court and will owe a predetermined amount of money to the court if he or she fails to appear for a hearing or violates a term or condition of the bond.

As of Sept. 20, Jeffrey Dwayne Smith was still housed in the Washtenaw County jail. Should he post bond and be released, Fink’s bond conditions include no contact with his alleged victim and wearing an electronic GPS tether.