REPORT: He’s not a vindictive man, but Harold Mackey — an 80-year-old Korean War veteran — hopes the man who mugged him “goes straight to jail.”
That hope has already come true after St. Clair Shores police earlier this week charged a suspect in connection with the July mugging. Investigators used DNA evidence to track down the suspect.
“We took a long shot on it, but we thought we might as well give it a try,” said Detective James Brueckman. “We were very happy to see the results.”
Ricardo Benyard, 45, of Detroit, was arraigned Tuesday in 40th District Court on one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony. Judge Mark Fratarcangeli set bond at $100,000.
Mackey was working on his lawn on Larchmont Street near 11 Mile Road and Harper Avenue about 8:40 a.m. on July 30, when he was attacked from behind. The attacker forced Mackey face-first down on the ground and ripped the wallet from his rear pants pocket.
The attacker fled on foot and hopped into a gray GMC SUV that was parked on a street east of the crime scene.
“I had seen him walking down the street a few minutes earlier and he came back,” Mackey said. “My wife was cutting the grass in front of the house, and I was edging the side lawn. I went to bend down and he just pushed me to the ground and hit me with his fists.”
Mackey suffered two broken ribs and other injuries in the attack. But he got the last laugh, as he doesn’t keep cash in the wallet and was able to put a hold on his credit cards before they were used.
