Charges dismissed against Detroit businessman Robert Carmack

A Detroit businessman accused of defrauding the city in a land deal had his case dismissed after a nearly four-year-long dispute.

Robert Carmack, who is embroiled in a public feud with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and accused of stealing a million-dollar property from the city, was charged with four felonies in December 2018. The case was handled by the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office, which was assigned as special prosecutor in 2019 after Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy submitted a petition to then-Attorney General Bill Schuette, citing a conflict of interest. Carmack was charged with defraud, forgery, counterfeit and felony false pretenses in connection with the 2016 sale of the 10-acre property at 7751 Melville St. in southwest Detroit.

Authorities previously contend Carmack never completed a $250,000 purchase of the site but used draft documents from 2007 to fraudulently represent that he owned the land before selling it in 2016 for $1 million. The charges carried a 14-year prison sentence.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Noah Hood was first assigned to the case, and initially denied the motion to dismiss, but was selected by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Whitmer appointed Judge Bradley Cobb to replace and assume Hood's dockets.

However, two weeks ago, a discovery motion was called and a visiting judge, Michael Callahan, was assigned and quashed Carmack's case in the name of Cobb on Oct. 13. Callahan also ordered the removal of Carmack's GPS tether. The attorneys received on Monday the filing that the case was dismissed; however, the prosecutor can still appeal the case.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told The Detroit News that Callahan called the case "civil in nature" and "killed" the case for no reason.

"(Callahan) knocked out the case for no adequate or legal reason. I don't understand it," Leyton told The News. "Callahan heard the motion once before Cobb was appointed. Suddenly, he resurrected the motion and killed our case. Cobb did not sign the motion to dismiss and Hood denied it initially."

Carmack previously said the deeds were mistakenly sent to him for the Melville property. He didn't sign the deeds, but Carmack said he did ultimately sell the property. During a Monday news conference, he said he is simply grateful to God.

"They could have ruled on this case in the exam. The deed I got followed the law," Carmack told The News.

Carmack, a father of six who is in between chemotherapy treatments, said he'll never be able to mend his reputation or his automotive business.

"During COVID, (the city) ripped my lock off, put his lock on, threw all my stuff in the dumpster and painted my building (different) colors," Carmack said. "I made a police report, I reported it to the FBI while I was a federal witness in another case. ... No one investigated it."

Duggan's office had no comment on the case and deferred to the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office.

Carmack's attorneys Lillian Diallo and Steve Haney argued during a motion hearing before Hood in 2019 that the case should be dismissed, citing evidence that Carmack got the deed to the property, and city officials had signed off.

"For some unknown reason, the matter stayed in the circuit court for three years before it was finally heard by an incoming judge (Cobb) taking over for Judge Noah Hood. The judge heard the arguments and dismissed charges against Bob Carmack, who nearly four years later now has his freedom," his attorney Steve Haney said Monday outside Detroit City Hall. "It is our strong belief that the only reason Bob Carmack was charged was because he was retaliated against by Mike Duggan."

In the latest motion to dismiss the case, Haney said examination and witness testimony did not produce any evidence that Carmack had made a fraudulent advance or sold a piece of land he didn't have the right to.

"We walked through exhaustedly four days of testimony and every single characteristic of that deed satisfied the statute of Michigan for a lawful sale," Haney said Monday. "Bob didn't do anything wrong."

They intend to file a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution, Haney said.

"I've never had a case that took four years to get justice," said Haney, an attorney for 20 years. "Among new charges we will file include false arrest, false imprisonment. ... It's not the appropriate time now ... but we are configuring with outside counsel to assist me."

During the court dispute, the auto shop owner has taken aim at Duggan with video footage displayed on billboard trucks and airplane banners outside of City Hall. He has attended City Council meetings to publicly speak out against Duggan's actions during public comment.

Carmack hired a private investigator in 2018 to trail Duggan and capture his comings and goings, including visits to a Novi condo, calling into question the mayor's relationship with a woman captured in the video footage at the same location. Duggan got divorced in 2019 and got married to Dr. Sonia Hassan in September 2021.

In response to Carmack's antics, Duggan held a news conference announcing that he'd asked the Michigan State Police to open an investigation into Carmack's actions — allegedly in retaliation for the city's refusal to drop property lawsuits against him — the mayor claimed have amounted to extortion.

Carmack said "the system needs to be changed."

"The system needs to help my kids, your kids, our grandkids. You can't use it to keep your enemy or someone that caught you doing something wrong," he said. "No one helped me, protected me despite being a federal witness. I'm the one that turned myself in."

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_