For years, Aaron Height kept getting into trouble with the law — shootings, drugs, assaults, robbery.
Yet, he kept winding up back on the streets, the feds say.
He kept getting bond, the feds say, even after he had shot up a house three times, struck a person in the head with a bullet, then shot up another home. Two days later came another crime, this one involving bleach and a failed execution-style shooting: he shot a kneeling man in the chest after an argument over a pair of sneakers.
And that would ultimately cost him his freedom.
In U.S. District Court last week, Height was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for a six-week-long crime spree that authorities say ended with that near fatal shooting. According to federal prosecutors, Height got into an argument with the man over the shoes, smashed a bottle over his head, poured Comet (household cleaner) on his head wound, then ordered him to his knees before shooting him.
According to court records, in a jail call five days after the shooting, Height confessed to the crime, saying he had caught a man with his new custom Jordans, “So I popped him in his chest. I beat him in the head with a 40 (oz.) bottle. Was going to shoot [the female] too, but she ain’t have nothing to do with the s—.”
The victim survived. Height got released on bond, again. But the feds ended up taking over the case and prosecuting him.
“This defendant spent decades committing crimes and hurting people, and a state court still set this menace free to terrorize us. But thanks to the hard work of Detroit Police, the ATF, and my office, this man will spend the next 25 years in a federal prison,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said in a statement.
According to court records, Height landed on the federal government’s radar following a crime spree that took place in late 2022 and early 2023. It started on Oct. 22, 2022 when Height shot into a home and struck a resident in the head.
Two months later, Height opened fire on the same house two more times. He was arrested by Detroit police that same day during a traffic stop. Police found a gun in his car. An arrest followed, but Height was released on bond with a tether and house arrest.
While out on bond, prosecutors say, he threatened a witness in the house shooting. A hearing was held. And Height was released on bond again.
Two days later came the argument over the sneakers and the shooting. The victim suffered life-threatening and permanent, life-altering injuries, but survived.
Height was arrested and again given bond, with a tether and house arrest.
The state case ended up getting dismissed, with the federal government picking it up and pursuing federal charges.
According to a sentencing memo filed by Height’s lawyer, Lisa Dwyer, Height has long suffered from mental illness — including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia — and has been hospitalized multiple times for these conditions. He grew up with many adversities, including having no parents in his life during his formative years.
“One wonders how Mr. Height survived on the streets during his youth,” states the defense memo, which also include letters from cousins who describe Height as kind loving and protective.
“These letters are a testament to the fact that Mr. Height is not a throwaway,” Dwyer writes. “He has family who loves him and wants him to get help.”
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How career criminal kept getting bond, even after execution-style shooting
Reporting by Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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