Maslamani To Stand Trial For Robbery

ROSEVILLE, Mich. - The teen accused of killing a Chesterfield Township man went before a judge Wednesday in a separate bank robbery case.

Ihab Maslamani, 17, is accused of an armed robbery at a Flagstar Bank in Clinton Township in August. Surveillance video from the bank showed a man who looks like Maslamani holding up a pistol.

A bank teller and a hostage victim from the robbery gave their testimony in court and identified Maslamani as the perpetrator.

Sarah Maynard,20, who had a gun held to hand during the robbery, elaborated on pictures taken by security cameras in the bank and said she first noticed who she identified as Maslamani outside the bank staring at her.

“I felt a hard object pressed against the back of my head. It felt like a gun,” Maynard said. “And I heard someone say, ‘Give me $50,000 or I’ll kill her.’”

Maynard said she was forced to move around with the robber, as he confronted a bank teller and demanded money.

“He said he’d shoot me if I don’t come with him. He tried to grab me and walk me to the door but I sat down,” Maynard said.

Bank teller Jessica Reeber testified that Maslamani asked her to go to the vault and take out cash.

“I couldn’t get into the vault. It’s dual controlled. I told him that, told him he could have everything in the drawer because I couldn’t get into the vault,” Reeber said.

Reeber said Maslamani took about $6,000 from her.

Bank customer Walter Stepaneko Jr. said Maslamani took cash from his wallet, too.

Maynard and Reeber said as Maslamani left through the double doors of the bank, he yelled out a couple times that he better not be locked in.

The women said they yelled back, “You’re not locked in, leave.”

Maslamani only briefly addressed the court to say he didn’t need an interpreter and understood his rights.

He was bound over for trial.

Maslamani is also charged with the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Landry, of Chesterfield Township.

Landry was carjacked on Aug. 9 outside of a Quizno's on Gratiot Avenue near 10 Mile Road in Eastpointe. His body was found a week later at an abandoned house on Detroit's east side. An autopsy determined Landry died of a bullet wound to the head.

Defense lawyer Joseph Kosmala said Maslamani has "had a very hard life."

Court documents state Maslamani was born in Lebanon and that his parents sent him and an older sister to the United States to live with an uncle when he was just 8 years old.

The documents also state that the uncle allegedly abused Maslamani's sister and the two then moved in with an aunt in Dearborn.

The two entered the state's welfare system in 2001 after being removed from the Dearborn house for neglect, according to the documents.

Maslamani's sister was eventually sent back to Lebanon, but Maslamani remained.

Court documents show Maslamani has built up a history of criminal behavior and has been diagnosed with anger management issues.

Maslamani was charged with assault and battery in 2006, carjacking in 2007, and several marijuana charges in 2007 and 2008.

Maslamani recently escaped from St. Thomas Detention Facility, a halfway house in Detroit for teens who have had trouble with the law and display aggressive and anti-social behavior.

Another teen, Robert Taylor, 16, was a person of interest in the slaying of Landry. He turned himself in to police.

Both teens will be back in court on Nov. 11 in connection with the Landry case.

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