FERNDALE – At 2 a.m. March 26, Ferndale Police were called to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak after a 48-year-old male reported being beaten, robbed and held against his will beginning Thursday night at his Ferndale home.
The victim said he had met the main assailant through the online dating service http://www.megamatesmen.com on March 12, and the the two of them had gone on a date about two weeks ago.
According to police, the suspect came to the man's home for a second date and said he had to go to his car to get something, and then returned with another male suspect, a hammer and a handgun.
The victim said the men beat him with the hammer and took his ATM card. The suspect in the wig then went to the Shell Gas Station on Woodward in Pleasant Ridge and withdrew $100, which was the card's limit. The suspect returned upset and the two men proceeded to assault the victim further. They left him tied to a chair and stole several items from his home.
The victim was eventually able to escape and make his way to Beaumont, where he was treated for his injuries.
Ferndale Police worked with U.S. Marshals and the Narcotics Enforcement Team and arrested one of the suspects, 27-year-old Charles Justin Campbell at 4:30 a.m. March 27. Campbell has been arraigned on charges of armed robbery, felony firearm possession, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana.
As of press time on March 30, the second suspect was still at large. According to police, he has been identified as a 29-year-old black male in "a long wig and women's clothes," named Johnny Clarence Bryant. Police say Bryant's "street name" is either "Key" or "Keya." He is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Ferndale Police at 248-541-3650.
The gun, hammer and the victim's property were recovered at a home on Hogarth Street in Detroit. Police say that the victim will make a full recovery.
