Man Charged With Attempted Murder In Attack On Detroit EMTs

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A man accused of slashing and stabbing two Detroit emergency medical technicians was charged Thursday with attempted murder in the midnight attack on a city street.

Michael Montgomery has been in and out of court since his arrest Tuesday night. He's also charged with first-degree murder in a teen's death in 2006, and kidnapping, rape and torture in a 2005 assault - two cold cases that are based on DNA results received by police just last week.

The stack of cases is "astounding," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "This office stands ready to prove each and every one of these charges in a court of law."

The paramedics, identified as Alfredo Rojas and Kelly Adams, had been called to the area to treat a woman with an ankle injury when a man who was with the woman became "agitated" and attacked.

"They were together on the sidewalk when EMS arrived," Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said of the attack during an interview on Tuesday. "The male subject was upset at the assessment of the EMTs so as they were treating her — I can't get inside of his head, I don't know what he was agitated about, but he was upset for some reason — and at some point during the encounter, he produced this weapon."

Police say EMTs Alfredo Rojas and Kelly Adams were attacked with a box cutter early Tuesday while helping Montgomery's girlfriend with an injured ankle. They were released from a hospital Wednesday with injuries to their face and hands.

Montgomery, 30, was enraged when he was barred from getting in the ambulance, police said.

He's charged with six crimes in the incident, including attempted murder, and has requested a court-appointed lawyer. The Detroit News said he cried during his arraignment.

"I'm trying to figure out the dates and the times," he told Magistrate Laura Echartea when informed about future hearings.

On Monday, hours before the attack, police had begun searching for Montgomery to arrest him in the 2006 homicide of a 16-year-old girl. Investigators called it an incredible connection.

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