Wednesday, March 20, 2024

PONTIAC, Mich. - The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office has received multiple requests for copies of the two proffer agreements provided to Nick Ejak and Shawn Hopkins. Those agreements were drafted by the prosecutor's office, and they made crystal clear to Hopkins, Ejak, and their attorneys Mr. Fishman and Mr. Ribitwer, that there was never an implicit or explicit promise of immunity, leniency, or favoritism of any kind. As you will see, these letters spell that out. Because there were no promises of any kind, those letters were not required to be disclosed. But those agreements did protect the prosecution from later claims that we promised Ejak and Hopkins something - we did not.

Given the ongoing speculation surrounding the proffer agreements, and in the interest of transparency, the office is releasing the agreements.

As Chief Prosecutor David Williams previously stated:

"No witnesses were every given immunity. Any statements to the contrary are false. Two school employees agreed to sit down with the prosecution and truthfully provide all the information they had. They were represented by counsel, who asked for a proffer agreement. A proffer agreement does not provide any immunity from prosecution. The agreement specifically says that they may be prosecuted and that there are no promises made. The only purpose of the agreement is to allow the witness to have an initial meeting with the prosecution without fear that their statements in that meeting will be used to criminally charge them. Both witnesses subsequently testified under oath without any promises or protection, and they were given nothing for their testimony. The information they provided in that initial meeting was exactly what they testified to under oath in court. None of the information provided at the initial meeting was exculpatory to the defense, or it would have been provided.

The Prosecutor has said from the beginning that she did not see sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against anyone at the school, and that position has never changed."

There has also been speculation regarding the threats made by James Crumbley to Karen McDonald in jail calls. Those threats are currently actively being investigated by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, and will be included in a sentencing memorandum that our office will file. To be clear, those threats were directly addressed to the Prosecutor by name, telling her what was going to happen to her when he is released. Those threats are serious, and they also reflect a lack of remorse and a continued refusal to take accountability for his part in the deaths of Hana, Madisyn, Tate, and Justin.

Proffer-Shawn Hopkins

Proffer-Nick Ejak

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CONTACT: ocpomedia@oakgov.com