Violet Crane

ALPENA — Violet Crane, 21, waived preliminary examination in the 88th Circuit Court on Wednesday and her case was bound over to the 26th Circuit Court, Alpena Attorney Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski said in a text message on Thursday.

Crane is charged with one count of unlawful driving away in a motor vehicle and was arrested at the scene of a recent officer-involved shooting in Alpena.

Her charges are not related to the officer- involved shooting incident that happened in December.

Judge Ed Black confirmed to The News, and during Crane’s arraignment, that Crane was a passenger in the allegedly stolen vehicle which resulted in the officer-involved shooting on Dec. 22 that killed a 35-year-old Alpena man.

For her current charges, a warrant for her arrest was issued on Dec. 15 for an incident that occurred on Nov. 15. Her arrest at the scene of the shooting was due to that warrant. Crane’s bond is set at $10,000 cash or surety.

She is still lodged in the Alpena County Jail.

When the shooting occurred, officers from the Alpena Police Department and troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Alpena Post conducted a traffic stop in the early morning hours of Dec. 22 on Grant Street, near Lawn Street, in Alpena Township on the driver of an allegedly stolen vehicle.

A 35-year-old Alpena man, an occupant of the vehicle, was shot by one of the Alpena Police Department officers after he brandished a knife and cut the officer’s hand. The man was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

The knife was the only weapon that the man had, MSP Seventh District Public Information Officer Ashley Miller said.

The time and date of Crane’s next court hearing for the unlawful driving away charge is yet to be determined. She is being sentenced for other unrelated charges of possession of methamphetamine/ecstasy and carrying a concealed weapon on Feb. 2 in the 26th Circuit Court.