DEARBORN
HEIGHTS-Emotions ran high at the 20th District Court on Wednesday after Judge
David Turfe decreased the bail amount on Natalie Hassan, the 23-year-old
Dearborn Heights woman who allegedly ran over Hanan Achkar, another 23-year-old
woman from Dearborn Heights, during an altercation on April 18 that has since
left her in a coma fighting for her life.

Hassan’s bail,
previously set at $250,000, was decreased to $150,000 with a ten percent cash
bond of $15,000 for temporary release with tether. Hassan will also be asked to
surrender her passports before she is released. Judge Turfe also determined
that the case will move forward with a trial as Hassan is being charged on five
counts, including assault with intent to murder.

Judge Turfe’s decision
came on the heels of a four hour examination that included the testimonials of
four key witnesses who were on the scene of the incident or related to those
involved. The first key witness to give her testimony was Nancy Faraj, the 27-year-old who was also involved in the incident and previously claimed she sustained minor injuries on her legs after Hassan had
struck both her and Achkar with her 2001 Chevy Malibu.

Disputes occurred
between both the prosecutor, Kal Najor, and Hassan’s attorney, Cyril Hall
regarding what appeared to be inconsistencies with Faraj’s statements to
authorities on two different reports. The first report was written by an
officer at the scene while the second report was written by Faraj. Faraj claims
that she ran down her block after she witnessed the two women fighting from her
living room window. She then proceeded to state that she never engaged in the
physical fight and had no intention of doing so.

Faraj was also asked to
give details during the moments when the two women were allegedly struck by
Hassan’s vehicle. She told the courtroom that both Achkar and herself were in
front of Hassan’s vehicle when Hassan allegedly struck her first, causing her
to get pinned between two vehicles. Faraj claims Hassan then backed up and
moved forward as she struck Achkar, who was on the passenger side of the
vehicle, causing her to slam against the ground.

“She said ‘I am
going to ‘effing’ kill you guys,'” Faraj said about Hassan before she allegedly
struck them with her car. Faraj used that edited version of the F-word in the
courtroom, but made it clear that Hassan used the actual curse word.

In a cross-examination,
Hall asked Faraj why his client would allegedly strike her with a car if she was
not involved in the fight. Faraj stated that Hassan had disapproved of a
friendship she had with Hassan’s ex husband, Michael Nehme, who has a
one-year-old daughter with Hassan.

“She wanted to harm
me because I’m friends with her baby daddy,” Faraj told the courtroom.

Hall asked Faraj further
questions but she was deemed uncooperative by Judge Turfe, after she refused to
read statements that she allegedly made to police officers at the scene. She
did however state multiple times that she did not engage in the altercation,
but was simply watching while two males tried to break up the fight. Her
testimony was later proclaimed “inconsistent” by Judge Turfe.

The next witness
testimony was made by a friend of Achkar’s named Sarah Carnacchi, who claims she was
riding in Achkar’s vehicle prior to the incident. She states that the two of
them were at a beauty store located on Warren Avenue in Dearborn Heights when
Achkar had encountered Hassan in the parking lot.  She then claimed
that Achkar followed Hassan in her vehicle until they both stopped at Garling
Street, where the incident took place in front of an apartment and condominium
complex.

There were slight
differences between Carnacchi and Faraj’s testimonies. Carnacchi claims that Faraj was
already at the scene when they had pulled up behind Hassan on Garling Street,
implying that Faraj was aware that the confrontation was going to occur. She
further claimed that Faraj provoked the altercation between Achkar and Hassan
by communicating with Achkar via text messages prior to the incident. She also
claimed that she did not see Hassan strike Faraj with her vehicle, but she
vividly remembers the moment when Hassan allegedly struck Achkar.

Carnacchi did however warn
the courtroom that her perception of the altercation may have been altered.

“I was completely
drunk during the incident. I’m not the best witness to talk to,” Carnacchi stated. “I’m just doing this for my girl Hanan,” she told the
courtroom before eventually being dismissed. Judge Turfe would also later
proclaim that her testimony was inconsistent and “all over the
place.”

The third witness on the
stand was a bystander who resided at the corner of Garling Street and Town Lane
at the complex. Laura Sarna, who claims she had witnessed the incident from her
house, called the Dearborn Heights dispatcher as soon as she became aware of
the altercation outsider her residence.  

 “The car
backed up and bolted forward before striking a female. She landed (on the
ground) like a ragdoll,” Sarna told prosecutor Najor, referring to when
Achkar had gotten struck by the vehicle.

Judge Turfe later noted
that Sarna seemed to be the most unbiased witness who had the most consistent
testimony. Her testimony also confirmed that Faraj was struck by Hassan’s
vehicle as well, something that up to that point was unclear.

The fourth witness on
the stand was Hassan’s ex-husband, Michael Nehme. Hall asked Nehme if Faraj had
ever told him that she was planning on confronting Hassan.

“Yes, she stated
that she was going to beat her a..,” Nehme told the courtroom.  

After Nehme was
dismissed from the stand, Hall had stated that his client was “ganged
up” against during the altercation. He stated that Achkar and Faraj had
conspired to confront Hassan and had voluntarily sought to injure her.

“There was intent
to cause harm on my client and she (Achkar) also made that statement to Nancy
(via text messages), we know that Nancy had the desire to cause harm and that’s
a contradiction on her testimony,” Hall had told the courtroom.

Hall had stated to the court that the charge for assault with intent to murder is not present in this matter and had the victim died from the altercation, then manslaughter would be more fitting than a first degree murder charge. He
argues that his client did not intend on causing severe harm towards the
victim, and instead was looking to escape. However, Judge Turfe disagreed.

“She is still in
control of her vehicle and herself. I do believe that based on the testimony
provided here today, that she should be charged on all five counts,” Judge
Turfe told the courtroom, before the majority of them erupted in applause.

However the mood in the
courtroom quickly changed when Judge Turfe proceeded to lower Hassan’s bond. Up
until that point Hassan had spent almost a month and a half in jail.

Achkar’s family
and friends, which included her mother, brothers and sisters, appeared
extremely upset as they were exiting the courtroom.

Hassan’s trial will take
place at the Third Judicial Court in Downtown Detroit. A date for the trial is
expected to be set at Hassan’s upcoming status conference hearing on June
6.