MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A judge has denied the request to reduce the bond for the ex-boyfriend of Ashley Elkins, a Macomb County mother of two who went missing on Jan. 2, 2025.
--> Full timeline on the disappearance of Macomb County woman Ashley Elkins
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Deandre Booker is accused of lying to a police officer during an investigation into finding Elkins.
He was charged and arraigned on Jan. 9, 2025, and his bond was set at $250,000.
On Jan. 22, 2025, Booker’s lawyer claimed he wasn’t a flight risk as he lived in Metro Detroit his entire life, and the bond is unusually high for one four-year felony charge with no prior criminal record. He asked Judge Joseph Boedeker to reduce the bond.
Boedeker agreed the bond was “extraordinarily” high for one charge, but he believed the judge in the arraignment had set the high bond based on Booker’s internet searches after Elkins went missing.
Booker’s search history revealed that while he was in Flint, he looked up information on the fastest routes from Flint to Ohio, what to do on the run, if blood is traceable, how to beat a polygraph and deleting Google search history.
The request to reduce Booker’s bond was ultimately denied.
A probable cause conference was scheduled for Feb. 26, 2025. The preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2025.
What we know in search for Ashley Elkins
The missing mother was last seen Jan. 2, 2025. Her cellphone placed her at an apartment in Roseville belonging to Deandre Booker, her ex-boyfriend.
Days later, the 32-year-old was taken into custody in Flint. Prosecutors said they believe he planned to run based on his search history. Booker was charged with lying to police, but additional charges are possible.
Police said they found clues in a dumpster at the apartment that indicated the mother of two was killed. That led police to search a specific area of the Pine Tree Acres Landfill in Lenox Township.
It’s the same landfill where Detroit police spent weeks in 2022 searching for the body of Zion Foster. Her body was never found, but her cousin was convicted of killing her.
The search for the missing mother in the landfill was called off on Jan. 19, 2025.
All evidence from the landfill will be analyzed, and once the investigation is complete, it will be sent to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review and potential charges.
The search at Pine Tree Acres Landfill lasted seven days, starting on Jan. 13. Using drones, volunteers and cadaver dogs, authorities were searching in freezing temperatures for any answers in the disappearance of Elkins.
Police recovered what they call “lookalike items” on Wednesday, Jan. 15, that could belong to Ashley. However, lab testing is necessary to verify whether they are evidence in this case.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Ashley Elkins’ family. You can donate here.
