GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An 18-year-old man is behind bars after being charged with shooting at two GRPD officers during a foot chase over the weekend. On Wednesday, the grandmother of his young daughter said he is not a bad person but needs help.
Saul Rodriguez, 18, was arraigned on charges of carjacking and felony assault Wednesday morning. Those charges are not related to the recent shooting but a prior incident.
Just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced they were charging him with two counts of assault with intent to murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
If convicted on all counts, he could face a sentence of life in prison.
Two GRPD officers were driving north on Division Avenue a few minutes before midnight Saturday night when they tried to initiate a traffic stop.
The vehicle pulls in to a parking lot a few hundred feet north of the Four Star Theater and begins to slow down.
Before things come to a stop, a young man jumps out of the backseat driver's side and runs towards a nearby alley.
One of the officers notices the man is armed.
"He's got a gun," one of them yells in body-worn camera video the department has since released.
"Drop that f_____g gun."
Seconds later, investigators say the man turns slightly and begins firing towards them.
Both officers returned fire. Thankfully, nobody was hit.
Watch video of the encounter below:
On Tuesday, Rodriguez was arrested at a home on Oxford SW.
FOX 17 stopped by the home on Wednesday, where we spoke to the mother of Rodriguez's girlfriend.
She tells us that the pair share a daughter together.
“The police did their job,” she says. “A lot of times he does things that he should not be doing, but most of the time what he needs is love … love and understanding."
She is scared of the possibility that her granddaughter could grow up without a father around.
“I thank God for my daughter, that her sisters can give her advice and love,” she said Wednesday. "I don't want a bad father for my granddaughter. I'm trying to do things the best I can.”
Rodriguez is expected to be back in court Thursday morning to be arraigned on the new charges.
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