Jeffrey Zeigler (left) nearly killed 14-year-old Brennan Walker when the teen showed up at his door looking for directions. (Images courtesy of Oakland County Sheriff’s Office / Fox 2 Detroit)
A Rochester Hills man accused of firing his gun at a teen who knocked on his door looking for directions is expected to stand trial.
Jeffrey Zeigler, 53, was bound over to circuit court on Tuesday after waiving his preliminary hearing on assault with the intent to murder and gun charges stemming from the April 12 shooting, the Associated Press reported. Defense attorney Robert Morad told the news site that all issues of the case will be dealt with at the upcoming trial.
No formal date has been set yet.
Brennan Walker, 14, nearly lost his life the day he stopped at Zeigler”s doorstep to ask for directions. The teen told police he’d missed the school bus that morning and was attempting to make the four-mile trek to school when he got lost. In search of help, Walker knocked on a stranger’s door and was met by Zeigler’s wife, who accused the Black teen of trying to rob her.
Moments later, the teen said Zeigler came running down the stairs with his shotgun and fired a shot at him. He missed, however, and Walker was able to get away unharmed.
“My mom says that Black boys get shot because sometimes they don’t look their age, and I don’t look my age. I’m 14; but I don’t look 14,” he told Fox 2 Detroit earlier this year. “I’m kind of happy that, like, I didn’t become a statistic.”
Zeigler could face life behind bars if found guilty.
