Man stood ground after Saginaw gunman ‘jumped out’ of hotel closet during massage session - MLive.com

[Cole Waterman | Cole_Waterman@mlive.com]

SAGINAW, MI — In late October, a local man visited a Saginaw hotel to pay a woman for a massage. After paying the woman for her services, the man was surprised by a gunman popping out of a closet.

Even so, the man stood his ground and called 911.

Such was the account the man shared from the witness stand in the Tuesday, Nov. 19, preliminary examination of his alleged assailant, 23-year-old Kyle J. Jackson. Jackson, dressed for court in a graphic T-shirt, gray sweatpants, sandals, socks, and an ankle tether, is charged with felonious assault and felony firearm.

Jackson’s alleged victim testified he called 911 the night of Oct. 26 from a room within the Ramada by Wyndham Saginaw Hotel & Suites, 3325 Davenport Ave. He went there as he had agreed to pay a female $200 for a half-hour massage, saying he has back issues, he said.

Saginaw police respond to an incident at the Ramada by Wyndham Saginaw Hotel & Suites, 3325 Davenport Ave., the night of Oct. 26, 2024. Photo provided by Breaking News 989Cole Waterman



He had met the female earlier that day on a massage website, he said. He did not know her name or age, he said.

When he entered the hotel room, he handed the female the money, after which she told him she was going into the bathroom to get her supplies.

A moment later, “the gentlemen jumped out of the closet with a pistol,” the man testified. “He was holding it directly at me,” he said, demonstrating with his arm fully extended.

Jackson told the man to leave. The gun appeared to be a 9mm Glock with a laser sight, the witness said.

“I was scared he was gonna shoot me then,” the man testified. “After I wasn’t shot, I figured he wasn’t gonna shoot me.”

The man said he was doing nothing illegal, so he would not leave and called 911. The caller was in a hotel hallway when police arrived. He was not physically injured during the incident.

Jackson was also still on the premises when officers arrived, as was the female suspect, identified as 25-year-old Rachel M. Reed. Officers arrested them both.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Ayiteh Sowah asked the witness why he opted to drive to the Ramada for a massage rather than have the would-be masseuse come to his home. The witness replied his back hurt.

Questioned further by Sowah, the man denied that he touched Reed or that she touched him before Jackson appeared with the pistol.

Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Leslie Card-Godin called no additional witnesses. Based on the victim’s testimony, she asked Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank to bind Jackson’s case over to Circuit Court for trial.

Sowah opposed this, but Frank found the prosecution had met its probable-cause standard and bound the case over to the higher court for further proceedings.

Jackson and Reed both reside in the Flint area. Reed has been charged with a misdemeanor count of larceny between $200 and $1,000.