FILE - This undated file image provided by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office shows Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo County. Dalton, charged in a Michigan shooting rampage that killed six people is scheduled to be in court, Friday, May 20, 2016, for a key hearing on whether the case goes to trial. Dalton, 45, is charged with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the shootings Feb. 20 in the Kalamazoo area. (Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
The Associated Press
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - A man charged with killing six people during a night of random shootings in Michigan was dragged out of court Friday after bizarre outbursts during testimony by a woman who survived the rampage.
A judge called a recess and ordered Jason Dalton to jail where he can participate by video. Tiana Carruthers sobbed loudly on the witness stand while stunned relatives of other victims watched him be hauled away by deputies.
Judge Christopher Haenicke must decide whether there's probable cause to send Dalton to trial on charges of murder and attempted murder in southwestern Michigan's Kalamazoo County. It's a low threshold; prosecutors don't have to present all their evidence.
Dalton made strange references Friday to "old people with these old black bags." The judge cut him off after he said, "It's time to get to temple."
Police said Dalton, 45, was driving for Uber when he shot eight people on Feb. 20 at three locations in the Kalamazoo area; six of them died. Police have quoted Dalton as saying a "devil figure" on Uber's app was controlling him. He's been found competent to understand the charges and assist his lawyer.
Before the hearing was interrupted, Carruthers, 25, described how she was with children outside an apartment building when Dalton drove up.
"He cut us off," she testified. "I actually grabbed the children because he almost hit us."
Carruthers was the first person shot that day, and police credit her with shielding the children from possible injury.
Witness and survivor Tiana Carruthers prepares to testify in the preliminary examination of suspect Jason Dalton in district court on Friday, May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Judge Christopher Haenicke stopped the hearing after Dalton interrupted Carruther's testimony. Prosecutors say Dalton gunned down six people and wounded two others in the Kalamazoo area over several hours on Feb. 20 while driving for Uber that night. ( Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, Pool)
The Associated Press
Witness and survivor Tiana Carruthers cries on the witness stand as Kalamazoo County Deputies remove defendant Jason Dalton after an outburst during his preliminary examination in district court on Friday, May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Prosecutors say Dalton gunned down six people and wounded two others in the Kalamazoo area over several hours on Feb. 20 while driving for Uber that night. ( Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, Pool)
The Associated Press
Kalamazoo County Deputies remove Jason Dalton after an outburst during his preliminary examination in district court on Friday, May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Prosecutors say Dalton gunned down six people and wounded two others in the Kalamazoo area over several hours on Feb. 20 while driving for Uber that night. ( Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, Pool)
The Associated Press
Kalamazoo County Deputies remove Jason Dalton after an outburst during his preliminary examination in district court on Friday, May 20, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Prosecutors say Dalton gunned down six people and wounded two others in the Kalamazoo area over several hours on Feb. 20 while driving for Uber that night. ( Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, Pool)
The Associated Press