Flint Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting Victim in Carjacking

A Flint man shot a victim in the shoulder during a violent carjacking in broad daylight, then fled in the victim’s own vehicle, federal court documents reveal. Mark E. Woodall, Jr., 21, pleaded guilty on November 8, 2016 to discharging a firearm during the January 20, 2014 incident, admitting his role in one of Flint’s most brazen acts of street violence in recent years.

Woodall and two accomplices approached the victim as he sat in his car at a local apartment complex, guns drawn. They forced him out, then ordered him back in to drive. After several blocks, they told him to stop and move to the back seat. The victim refused, fled on foot — and was shot as he ran. The bullet struck him in the shoulder, but he survived and escaped as Woodall and the others sped off in his stolen car.

U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced the guilty plea alongside S. Robin Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Detroit Field Division. The case underscores federal and local law enforcement’s push to target repeat violent offenders in Flint, where armed carjackings have terrorized residents and eroded public safety.

“Armed carjacking is one of the most serious violations of public safety, making people feel vulnerable in their own neighborhoods and driveways,” McQuade said. “We will bring strong federal penalties against those who prey on motorists in Flint.” Shoemaker added that ATF remains committed to prosecuting individuals who use firearms to intimidate and injure innocent citizens.

Woodall now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. Sentencing is set for February 21, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Linda V. Parker. The federal sentence will run consecutively to a 3-to-10-year state sentence Woodall is already serving for a 2013 Flint shooting.

The investigation was led by ATF special agents, with support from the Flint Police Department and Michigan State Police. Prosecution was handled by an Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Flint Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, sealing the case as a federal strike against violent street crime in one of Michigan’s hardest-hit cities.

RELATED: Michigan Man Admits to Capitol Cop Attack