Judge Orders Patrick Mikes Jr. to Stand Trial for Father's Murder

Patrick Mikes Jr., who is charged with open murder in the death of his father, will stand trial for his father's murder, Judge William Bolle ruled Monday morning in 52-4 District Court.

Bolle bound Mikes Jr. over as charged, saying, "I think the evidence is quite compelling there was a crime ... and the defendant is responsible."

During final arguments Monday morning, Oakland County Prosecutor Ken Frazee went over the timeline of Mikes Sr.’s homicide and summarized evidence in the case.

“Clearly, this is a deliberate act … that reflected intent to kill,” Frazee concluded.

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Defense attorney Christopher Andreoff argued the charge of open murder left first-degree murder, which requires premeditation, open as an option if the case were to be bound over.

“There’s no evidence of premeditation … or planning,” he said.

Andreoff asserted second-degree murder also does not apply to his client and asked the judge to consider a charge of manslaughter.

“There is insufficient evidence for binding over for open murder,” he said, adding that the altercation in which Mikes Sr. was killed was a fight that “got out of control.”

Defense attorney Robert Harrison also argued that the initial evidence found by Troy Police, whom Mikes Jr. had called to the family’s home on Homewood on July 29 to file a missing person report, was inadmissable and argued Troy officers were conducting an illegal search of the Mikes home when they found several bags full of bloody material in the basement.

Harrison said the officers, by uncovering and cutting open one of the bags without first obtaining a written consent to search the home, had gone beyond the scope of the search to which Mikes Jr. had verbally consented.

“That taints every piece of evidence in this case,” Harrison said. “All of it must be suppressed.”

Judge Bolle disagreed in his ruling, saying, “You don’t have to have written consent to search." He added Troy officers “were invited into the house.”

Though Bolle admitted the situation was “an odd position” for officers to be in, he said they “have the right under those circumstances to go look for the body.”

“Perhaps the father was unconscious or had a heart attack or a stroke,” Bolle said. “Police do make these kinds of searches from time to time.”

Bolle also pointed out the “very condemning” surveillance video of Mikes Jr. purchasing large quantities of cleaning supplies at Meijer in Rochester Hills the day his father went missing.

“Certainly, there’s no question in my mind … (prosecutors) have shown proof that a crime was committed,” Bolle said. He later added, “Whatever occurred certainly involves the defendant.”

A date for Mikes Jr.'s murder trial has not yet been set.

Last Monday, Bolle heard from several witnesses, including Oakland County Assistant Medical Examiner Ljubisa J. Dragovic, who testified that the July 27 altercation in the Mikes' family's basement "was a violent (altercation) that resulted in a tremendous amount of blood loss that would be consistent of blunt force trauma to the head."

Mikes Jr.'s brother, 16-year-old Andrew Mikes, also testified last Monday, as did Troy Police Sgt. Josh Jones and Montrose Township resident Bruce Bunn.

Mikes Jr., 21, is currently being held without bond at the Oakland County Jail after being charged with open murder on Aug. 9. He is accused of killing his father, 55-year-old Patrick Mikes Sr., on July 27.

Bolle denied on Sept. 5 a motion from Patrick Mikes Jr.'s defense attorney requesting that Mikes Jr. be allowed to meet with the defense's psychological experts for analysis.

Mikes Jr. was arraigned on Aug. 9 on a charge of homicide–open murder. Less than 24 hours after his arraignment, and following an intense search, investigators found the body of Mikes Sr. in Montrose Township. The Oakland County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Police have said they believe Mikes Sr. was killed in a violent altercation in the basement of his Troy home on Homewood Drive on July 27. He was last seen alive by his 16-year-old son, Andrew Mikes, on the evening of July 26.

Mikes Sr. did not show up for work on July 27, and investigators believe Mikes Jr., who has been the only named suspect in his father's disappearance, did not see his father leaving for a bike ride that day, as he first reported to police Sunday morning.

Mikes Jr. also was seen on surveillance video purchasing a large quantity of cleaning supplies at a local store on July 27, according to Troy police.

Mikes Jr. was charged on Aug. 1 with fraudulently using his younger brother's American Express card to make purchases at the AMC Theatre and Johnny Rocket's in Auburn Hills on July 26. His maternal grandparents paid his $50,000 bond the next day, police said. Before being arrested and charged with homicide-open murder on Aug. 9, Mikes Jr. had been ordered not to contact his younger brother or leave the state.

Police say there was no known history of violent altercations between Mikes Jr. and his father.