Court Watching: Matthew Tiggs arraigned on murder, assault charges in VBT

Matthew Torrey Tiggs, Jr., 22, of Eastpointe who had been living in Van Buren Estates mobile home park with relatives for the previous two weeks, was arraigned at 34th District Court on Aug. 9 by Magistrate Alan Hindman on nine counts, including second-degree murder and assault with intent to commit murder. He was remanded to the Wayne County Jail without bond.
He is due back in court for a probable cause conference before Judge Tina Brooks Green at 8:30 a.m., Aug. 23.
He is accused of the Aug. 4 shooting death of 26-year-old Jean Thomas Butchart in a park at Van Buren Estates mobile home park in the 16800 block of Lohr Road. Butchart did maintenance for Van Buren Estates.
Butchart identified as a transgender male and did not identify himself using his legal name “Catherine,” according to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Van Buren Township Police found Butchart dead with a bullet wound to the head. Tiggs allegedly had approached the victim and produced and fired a handgun multiple times before fleeing the scene.
For this, he is charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of felony firearm.
Tiggs also is accused of pulling a firearm after an argument with a 45-year-old man around 11:31 a.m. on the previous Friday, July 28, in the 30 block of Birch Drive in the mobile home park. He allegedly pointed the weapon at the man before fleeing the scene. This assault wasn’t discovered until after the shooting on Aug. 6, said Van Buren Township Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte.
For this he is charged with one count of felonious assault, one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of felony firearm.
Van Buren police were at the mobile home park on Sunday, Aug. 6, investigating the Aug. 4 murder at 11:44 a.m., when they were dispatched to a residence in the 40 block of Birch Drive for multiple gunshots. Officers found a 47-year-old victim suffering from gunshot wounds to the right upper arm and lower back. He was transported to a hospital.
It is alleged that Tiggs approached the victim while he was in his vehicle and produced and fired a handgun multiple times, wounding the victim. The defendant then allegedly barricaded himself inside the next-door residence.
Since they were on the scene, police arrived in seconds and were able to surround the mobile home to which the shooter ran. After a two-hour standoff with the Western Wayne SWAT team negotiating, Tiggs was taken into custody.
For this he is charged with one count of assault with intent to murder, one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of felony firearm.
He is considered an habitual offender with a second-offense notice. He pled guilty to a charge of carrying a concealed weapon on Jan. 27, 2019 in Macomb County and served two years in state prison. He was released July 29, 2021.
“It is an understatement to say that these cases are extremely unsettling,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement on Aug. 9. “The defendant allegedly terrorized members of this community in a series of very violent events. We will continue to work hard to bring the victims and their families justice.”
On Wednesday evening, Aug. 9, Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara, Police Chief Jason Wright, and Deputy Chief Monte hosted a community debriefing at the Van Buren Estates club house, with the residents of Van Buren Estates.
Deputy Chief Monte said they brought in the police department’s embedded clinician, along with additional clinicians from Hegira Health to provide any support the residents of the mobile home community may need.
The debrief was well-attended and we answered some questions and concerns from the mobile home community,” Deputy Chief Monte said.
“We did learn that in the short time Mr. Butchart was working for Van Buren Estates, he was liked and well-respected in the community.”
See obituary on page 7.