By Nathan Clark MLive.com
DETROIT — A man accused of killing a Detroit Police officer in a fatal hit-and-run crash a month ago is no longer facing a murder charge.
One count of second-degree murder was dismissed after Jonathan David Cole’s preliminary examination before Detroit District Judge Kenneth King on Aug. 31, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Cole, 19, of Belleville, was initially charged with second-degree murder, reckless driving causing death and failure to stop at the scene of a crash causing serious impairment or death.
Detroit Police Officer Fadi Shukur was killed in the crash about 2:40 a.m. on Aug. 4 while authorities were dispersing a large crowd after a party at a banquet hall on McNichols Road in Detroit. The reckless driving and failure to stop charges remain as Cole moves on to circuit court for trial.
“(King) dismissed the second-degree murder charge, finding that the only aggravating factor presented in the case was speed, and concluded there was insufficient evidence to bound over on second-degree murder,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
After being placed on life support following the crash, Shukur succumbed to his injuries on Aug. 15.
Cole fled the scene and later turned himself over to authorities, police said.
Prosecutors said they’ll seek to reinstate the murder charge while the case progresses through the Wayne County Third Circuit Court.
Cole is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Sept. 9.
