Man with mannequin fetish could face life in prison

FERNDALE-- A Detroit man with a record of breaking store windows to satisfy a fetish for female mannequins faces up to life in prison if convicted on the latest charge against him.

Ronald A. Dotson, 39, is charged with attempted breaking and entering after police say he broke a display window Oct. 9 at a cleaning supply store in a failed effort to get at a female mannequin dressed in a black-and-white French maid's outfit.

Dotson's criminal history includes at least six breaking and entering convictions involving female mannequins over the past 13 years and stints in state prison.

Ferndale 43rd District Judge Joseph Longo on Thursday found Dotson competent to stand trial after he was examined by state doctors who issued a report to the court.

Dotson was ordered to stand trial in circuit court following a preliminary examination on the evidence against him in Ferndale court on Thursday.

The suspect, who is 5-feet-4, appeared in court in a blue jail uniform with his hands cuffed in front of him.

Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Josh Marcum said Dotson is charged as a habitual offender because of his past convictions and faces up to life imprisonment if found guilty.

"This looks like something where some serious treatment would be in order in a prison setting," Marcum said.

However, defense attorney Edward Cohn said he talked to a doctor at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti where Dotson was examined.

"She told me she has no idea if there is treatment available," Cohn said. "We don't know if the Michigan Department of Corrections has any treatment."

Dotson had been paroled from prison only six days before he was arrested outside the Crandall Worthington clean supply store, 21208 Woodward, about 9 p.m.

Ferndale officer Casey O'Loughlin testified Thursday that Dotson was stopped about 10 feet away from the store wearing a short sleeve shirt and cotton work gloves after the alarm sounded.

A glass display window was shattered. O'Loughlin said he recognized Dotson.

"In July 2000 there was an alarm at a store on West Nine Mile," O'Loughlin said. "We arrested Mr. Dotson for stealing a mannequin out of a store front."

Dotson was first convicted in Ferndale for breaking a store window in pursuit of female mannequins in 1993. Police say they arrested him after he had stolen three female mannequins from a downtown business and lined them up in an alley behind the store.

In Oak Park, Dotson was convicted of breaking and entering women's stores in 1997, 2000 and 2004, according to police. He was also convicted of a similar charge in Detroit in 1993.

Shortly before his arrest in October, Dotson had told his parole officer he was considering buying a female mannequin so he wouldn't have to commit further break-ins, Ferndale police said.

Ferndale Detective Brendan Moore testified Thursday that a surveillance camera video at Crandall Worthington showed a man in the alley behind the business about an hour before the window was smashed.

"It was a black male subject wearing a short sleeve shirt and gloves ... an hour before the alarm," Moore said. "It was too grainy to make out the face but the clothing matched."

Dotson is jailed in lieu of $15,000 bond. It is unknown whether he has any relatives in the area, Cohn said.

"No one has contacted me," he said.

< If you figure the damage to the storefront glass was maybe $1000 per sheet including installation fees, the damage to the mannequins 0$ (he loved them), the cost of police response, etc etc (court fees can't be justly charged against him since they're obviously unnecessary), this mad did a total of maybe $10,000 worth of damage. and for this they say he should forfeit his life. >