Trial Date Set for Alleged McDonald's Stabber

The suspect in a violent McDonald's drive-thru robbery in Chesterfield is heading to trial this fall in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Roland Lee Moore Jr., 35, was arrested in February following a multiday-manhunt. He is slated to appear before Judge David Viviano Oct. 2 in the Mount Clemens court for trial.

Follow us on Facebook

Moore, a parole absconder, is . He could face up to life in prison if convicted.

His lawyer Randy Rodnick said Friday he is awaiting the outcome of DNA evidence testing. He declined to speak specifically about the DNA evidence, including whether it pertained to the knife used in the attack. Rodnick reiterated Friday his defense remains at this time.

"My case is just going to be that it was the wrong person—that it was wasn't him," he told Patch last winter. 

During a prelimary exam, Donna Fulton testified she was ordering food around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the restaurant on 23 Mile near I-94 before work when a man leaned into her 2008 Jeep Commander in the drive-thru lane.

she said in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore. "I noticed a small silver object and I put up my hands to try and block myself."

, the suspect stabbed her repeatedly in the hand area before he made off with her laptop and her bag with personal items and papers. The laptop was later recovered, she said.

"I did see a small silver knife—almost like a pocket knife," she testified. "He kept trying to stab me so I kept trying to defend myself. ... I was scared."

She suffered deep cuts on her left hand.

Fulton selected Moore out of a photo lineup and identified him as her attacker in court. Although she wasn't 100 percent positive in the photo lineup, she was sure it was him in court, she said.

Kyle Poole, who was in the drive-thru lane during the time of the robbery, told Patch and gave chase after the suspect with a bat.

"I chased him. I yelled at him twice. I said 'Hey!'" Poole said, running after the thief all the way to a nearby gas station where he tried to get others' attention to stop the suspect to no avail.

, along with the County of Macomb Enforcement Team, also known as COMET, Roseville police, U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Corrections took Moore into custody Feb. 3 without incident as he left a gas station at 9 Mile and Schoenherr.

Roseville Deputy Police Chief James Berlin said Moore snatched an elderly woman's purse while on the run.

The suspect has been a parole absconder since November 2011. His extensive criminal background includes assault with a dangerous weapon, fleeing police, drug charges and resisting and obstructing police, according to Chesterfield police.