STERLING HEIGHTS — A man facing murder charges related to a Sterling Heights shooting death had potentially incriminating text messages revealed in a court hearing June 11.

On Feb. 1, Luke James Svacha allegedly shot and killed JaJuan Marls, 24, of Detroit, at the Extended Stay America on Van Dyke Avenue in Sterling Heights. After the shooting, he reportedly fled to his Center Line home, where police spent hours trying to coax him to leave his house and surrender.

Svacha is facing one count of first-degree premeditated murder, punishable by life in prison; a felony weapons charge, punishable by up to five years in prison; resisting and obstructing a police officer, a two-year felony; and carrying a concealed weapon, a five-year felony.

Sterling Heights Police Lt. Aaron Susalla testified at an exam hearing in the 41-A District Court on June 11 that the Sterling Heights Police Department’s crisis negotiations team used an app to communicate with Svacha, sending him text messages and phone calls to try to establish communication.

“We have an app that we utilize where it will not reveal the detective’s phone number,” Susalla said.

It took several hours before detectives got a reply from Svacha, Susalla said.

Several days later, Susalla took screenshots of the text messages and printed them off.

When called to the stand, Sterling Heights Police Detective Greg Glinski, who was the officer texting Svacha on Feb. 1, was asked to read several of the messages by Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Cory Newman.

One text message sent to Glenski, allegedly by Svacha, stated, “I know what I did, and whether it was deserved or not. I took it upon myself to be judge, jury and executioner,” Glinski read in court.

“That’s me, wicked, made for destruction and pain, that’s all (God) seems to want from me,” a message allegedly from Svacha read by Newman during his closing arguments said.

Another text message from Svacha allegedly told Glisnki he can use the text messages as a confession.

Eventually, Glisnki was able to convince Svacha to exit the home peacefully and police were able to arrest him.

Newman argued that the content of the messages showed that he deliberated the alleged murder, which gave probable cause to the first-degree premeditated charge Svacha is facing.

“He deliberated. He thought about it. He acted as the judge who deliberates over court proceedings. Then he acted on it,” Newman said. “He acted as the judge, jury and executioner.”

However, despite the alleged content of the messages, whether or not they could be admitted as evidence was questioned by Kenneth Vernier, Svacha’s attorney.

He argued that because the text messages were obtained through an app, and because he never identified himself, they couldn’t prove Svacha was the one messaging Glinski.

“There is nothing in those text messages. There’s no admission in those text messages that this person shot anyone and not that specific person in any specific way,” Vernier said.

District Court Judge Kimberley Weigand dismissed one count of carrying a concealed weapon, but she ended the hearing and scheduled it to continue at a later date so she could review the evidence before making a decision about whether or not to bind Svacha over for trial in Macomb County Circuit Court.

The hearing will continue at 8:30 a.m. on July 16.

Call Staff Writer Brian Wells at (248) 291-7637.