By Eric Fleischauer  

For the Enquirer 

A Hartselle man wielded a hatchet and a firearm to force occupants out of a vehicle he then stole, according to a Decatur police detective. 

Marcus Eric Dean, 38, 1107 Thompson Road SE, is in Morgan County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for June 3. 

Dean was armed with a hatchet and firearm April 28 when he took the vehicle from its male owner, according to a court affidavit by Detective Sean Mukaddam. In a statement last week, police said the incident took place in the 4600 block of Joe Davis Road. 

A woman was in the vehicle as Dean entered it, according to the affidavit. 

“Once inside the vehicle, Dean ordered (her) out of the vehicle while he was in possession of the firearm and hatchet,” Mukaddam wrote. 

Dean was still in possession of the stolen vehicle when he was arrested in Hartselle, according to the affidavit.  

Dean was charged with first-degree robbery, a Class A felony punishable by up to life imprisonment. 

Tuesday Dean filed a hardship affidavit saying he had no income or assets. Attorney Christy Miller of Hartselle was appointed to represent him, according to court records. 

At the time of the alleged offense, Dean was out on bail on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was denied entry into drug court because “medical issues prevent proper monitoring.” 

In March, Miller — who represented him in that case, as well — moved for a continuance of his trial because his behavior at a settlement conference indicated “the defendant is in no good mental condition to proceed with the settlement or trial of his case at the present time.” 

In 2017 Dean pleaded guilty to intent to manufacture methamphetamine. He was sentenced to serve 36 months in Morgan County Community Corrections, briefly returned to jail after another drug arrest and was released from custody in 2018.