Judge Orders New Evaluation in Macomb County Kidnapping Case After Families Object to Insanity Plea
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A Macomb County judge has ordered a new independent evaluation of Endi Bala’s criminal culpability, delaying a planned insanity plea in a high-profile kidnapping case that has already drawn outrage from victims’ families.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido announced Wednesday that Judge Matthew P. Sabaugh declined to accept a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity after the Michigan Forensic Center concluded Bala met the legal standard for insanity. Instead, Sabaugh ordered a second expert to conduct a separate evaluation.
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Lucido said he supports the judge’s decision and understands the families’ desire for another review. He said his office relies on the Forensic Center’s expertise but will await the results of the independent evaluation. A hearing with both doctors is scheduled for March 20, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
Earlier incidents and family reaction
The renewed evaluation comes days after families publicly objected to the original plea plan.
Bala, 24, was charged last August in two separate incidents in Sterling Heights and Clinton Township. According to police and prosecutors, he is accused of pulling a 7-year-old girl off her bicycle, placing her into his vehicle, and attempting to drive away before a relative intervened. Less than an hour earlier, he allegedly tried to force a 15-year-old girl into his car on Clinton River Road.
Bala has not been convicted of any crime in the cases.
Alecia Childers, the aunt of the 7-year-old and mother of an 8-year-old boy injured during the struggle, previously told reporters she was never informed prosecutors planned to accept an insanity plea. She said she learned of the agreement only after arriving at court for a recent hearing.
Next steps
Judge Sabaugh’s order means the case will not move forward on the planned insanity plea until the second evaluation is complete. The prosecutor’s office emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Too many lawyers try and get their clients off on the Insanity Plea. I could care less if you are insane or sound mind and body. A crime or attempted crime is all the same. You do the crime, you do the time.
Kudos to the judge. He rejected a plea that would put this criminal on the streets much sooner. I am hoping the incoming professional is not influenced by the previous Dr.'s findings.